Ninja And The Demon
by BlazingxSoul
Summary: When Yuffie runs away from Wutai to escape her duties, she finds herself in the old Niebleheim Mansion. When a certain demon allows her to stay, how willing is she to take the step that will change her life forever?
1. The Legend

A/N: This is a story where Metor never happened. I know… I know… just go with me here. SOILDER still exists, but they're more of like police with the Turks as the more elite force. Shinra is the basic government of the world, but they're not bad… here anyway. I've never played Final Fantasy VII, so I'm trying. Thus I'm not doing an in-game fic. I would screw everything up. As you will notice, Yuffie is older in this story, about 20. She's just older and everyone else's age has stayed the same. Makes it easier to write.

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 1**

_The Legend

* * *

_

Once upon a time-

No. That's not the way to start this story. This didn't happen in some fairy tale novel… this was real. All though this story happened so long ago that many believed it to be a tale. But on with this so-called "tale"…

Many scientists worked for Shinra to make this world a better place… and some didn't. This man… Hojo… wasn't one of them. He claimed to be doing his research for better police cadets, and the government believed him. But everyone on the streets new better. These "new and improved" men were more of a monster than an actual man. While most of his experiments failed, Hojo would not give up. And he never did, and he never would until he had the most perfect specimen. That was all these men, and a few women were. Specimens… people to poke needles at, things to make writhe in pain. And this "man"… Hojo… enjoyed every moment of it.

And in the case of two tragic lovers… this applied. The beautiful woman was his new assistant, and he was determined to have her as his latest prize. But the man she loved, the man that would never Hojo succeed wouldn't have it. No one gets in the way of his experiments. Not then… not ever.

The couple never saw each other after that night. Hojo captured the woman, Lucrecia, and strapped her down to a table and began to perform his "beneficial" experiments. Her lover burst into the room, pointing a gun at the scientist's head.

He laughed, "Do you really believe that you can harm me?"

"Let her go!"

"Ah, ever the romantic." Hojo drawled, pulling a gun out of his lab coat. "Sadly, throwing rocks at her window won't save you now! Say good-bye to your lover…"

No one ever heard of the famous Turk again.

* * *

Yuffie sighed and turned the page of the book. Geez, didn't anyone know that you needed adventure in a fantasy novel? The book was a book of myths and legends that hadn't been proved if they were true or not… and Yuffie was that bored to read it. It took on the form of a regular novel of short stories, just like little blurbs about a certain werewolf or ghost off in some unknown wood. Despite her dislike for the general flow of the story, she kept reading.

_The man slowly opened his eyes and moaned. What happened to him? He remembered Hojo… wait, HOJO! The man sat bolt up right, or rather tried to. Hojo was laughing at him lying there helplessly on the examination table._

"_Isn't wonderful to be completely vulnerable to someone?" Hojo asked absentmindedly, walking around the table. "Especially when this person has the ability to do things to you that would make your skin crawl?"_

"_All I want to know is how I'm still alive after you shot me." The man snarled._

_The scientist laughed, "Oh… simple. I'm famous for my experiments… as you know. You're an entirely different person you know. You look nothing like the man Lucrecia once loved."_

"_You bastard-"_

"_Ah now, that isn't the way to talk to the man that holds control over you live, now is it?" He laughed, and leaned down to stare the Turk in the eyes. "Strange, how you don't know the true meaning of love."_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_Didn't you know? Lucrecia is my **wife**. Did you fail to notice that?"_

"_She said she hated you! I wanted to bring her the joy that you never could!"_

"_My poor boy… you do not understand a thing about love. What would you do for her?"_

"_I'd die for her!"_

"_You say that now, but I know what's in your heart. You would run when you could, not matter what you promised her!"_

"_You speak lies!" the man yelled, despair in his heart. He knew the crazy man was right, but he refused to believe._

"_You and I both know that I do not. But I am right… despite what you want the truth to be. You do not know the true meaning of love… and you never will. When you do… you shall know."_

_Then Hojo pulled a needle out of pocket, and injected it into the man's arm. "All will be explained…"_

_When the man awoke again… he could see more clearly. He looked around, only to notice he was not in the examination room where he last was conscious. He raised a hand to his face, only to realize that he wasn't seeing a hand… but a claw. He stood up with alarming speed, and spun around. He was in the attic where no one rarely ever went these days. He looked around for Hojo, only to see that he was the only one in the old room. A mirror was hung against the wall, and he went over to look at himself. Hojo did say that he didn't look normal…_

_The man let out a strangled gasp at his reflection. He didn't resemble anything even human!_

"_Fitting, isn't it? That the man who doesn't know how to love is transformed into a being that hates the word? Sadly… this is permanent, unless you break the curse I've set on you."_

"_What are you talking about?" The man cried, only to discover his voice sounded much different… like an animal growl rumbling in his chest._

"_This is a curse. When you learn to love, this hard exterior you now support will vanish. But… we cannot wait forever, for time passes whether we like it or not. You have a certain amount of time to break this new you and find a love. If you do not, you will remain like this forever."_

"_How long do I have?" The man asked quietly._

_Hojo smiled and pulled out a rose, "You have until every single petal on this red rose falls. When it does… you will never see the human you again."_

_And to this very day, that lost image of a man waits in that old house… waiting for someone to see the real him and learn to love him through his dark and unbreakable visage.

* * *

_

"Gawd… why are these stories so morbid?" Yuffie complained, shutting the book. It irked her that the man's name was never said through out the entire story. There was an editor's note at the beginning, saying that the man's name had been lost, and that he was never mentioned among Hojo's records. She just shook her head. Someone wanted a story, so they just made one up. Sadly… the young woman should have thought a little deeper, beyond the darkness and pain of this man's story.

For it is real… and you must look deeperto find the true meaning of a story.

* * *

A/N: It's funny the kinds of idea that can come to you when you're watching a Disney movie. Anyway, the next chapter is coming soon considering that this wasn't exactly a fun one to read. And since Metor didn't happen in this story, Yuffie has met none of AVALANCHE and vise versa. Don't worry, you'll see them... only much, MUCH later. As you've noticed, this is a Beauty and the Beast theme. Just... go with me on this one, it gets better, I promise.

**Please, don't flame. This is my first FFVII fic, and I haven't even played the game. So, I'm trying!**

Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII, or the flow of Beauty and the Beast. This applies now and for the rest of the story.

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos- _


	2. The Beginning Of Something New

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 2**

_The Beginning Of Something New

* * *

_

"Yuffie!"

The young woman cringed. Why did her father have to bug her _now_? She put on a fake smile and turned to face her father. "Yes Godo?" she asked sweetly.

The old man sighed from the doorway of his study. "Yuffie, I've talked to you about this before. You have been of age for two years now-"

"And I'm not getting married." She said, cutting him off and shaking her head.

Godo went red, "Now listen to me! I'm not getting any younger and whether you like it or not, you _are_ my heir! Thus, you _shall_ get married!"

She rolled her eyes, "Godo, I've told you time and time again, I'm not going to marry some sorry excuse of a man that you set before me."

"Heed my words Yuffie! You will marry for the better of Wutai if it's the last thing you ever do!"

"Gawd, you're impossible old man!" She cried, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration. She spun on her heel and strode down the hall, away from her fuming father.

Yuffie burst into her room, livid with anger. "Who does he think he is? I'm not about to get married to some stranger! I want to find love; I want to live life to the fullest… I just want an adventure!" Looking around at her room, she began to remember the good… or rather her bad memories of Wutai.

Her mother died right down the hall twelve years ago, thanks to cancer. Since that day, Yuffie had never set foot in her mother's room. Godo had moved to the opposite end of the pagoda so he wouldn't have to see the memory of his wife… or his daughter. She resembled her mother so much… Yuffie knew that her father could barely stand to look at her. Thus, he never called her his daughter, and she never acknowledged him as her father.

Yuffie shook her head, dismissing the unpleasant memories and tried to think of happier ones. But try as she might, she couldn't think of any. She closed her door with a sigh, and turned back to look at her somewhat messy room. This wasn't the way she wanted to live. So… she wouldn't.

She didn't think twice. She got out of her formal kimono and into some travel clothes. She found a pair of khaki pants and a warm turtle neck sweater. Putting on some waterproof boots, she was ready. Winters in Wutai were really cold, and she didn't want to chance the weather wherever she decided to go. Within a few minutes she was packed and sneaking out of her home. This was the last place she wanted to live her life, so she was going to get some adventure. Stopping by the bank, she withdrew her money and paid the clerk to keep quiet. Leaving the bank, she slinked out through the gate without even looking back.

It was time for a new beginning.

* * *

Well… she _thought_ it was cold in Wutai. Everywhere else on the continent was **freezing**! Yuffie had been traveling for about a week, and her supplies were running low. She wanted to Gold Saucer, so she hopped on a boat heading to the next continent… where it was even _colder_. She had never been out of Wutai, and she certainly didn't have the common sense to get a map. She had been traveling through six inches of snow, and she was sick of it… not to mention she had to be coming down with something.

She saw some city lights in the distance, and squinted her eyes. Yup, some town was definitely there. But… was it the Gold Saucer? Yuffie looked up at the night sky, and a snowflake landed in her eye. She sighed; even if it wasn't, she needed to stop for the night in an actual warm bed. She hitched her backpack up higher, and ordered her frozen feet to move toward the lights.

* * *

It must have been some kind of holiday, because all of the buildings were decorated with bright streamers. It was late and all the shops were closed, the inn full. Yuffie soon learned that this place was Nieblheim… that was bad. That meant that Gold Saucer was on the **other** side of the mountains! She rubbed her arms and walked down the numerous streets, hoping for any other inn… or even a safe place to stay.

She had been out in the cold too long, and unnoticed by her, was running a high fever. Yuffie turned her head to the left, and saw a huge house.

"Oh please… just let me stay the night…" she whispered, and pushed the creaky gate open far enough for her slim body to fit through. She thought that this mansion had an owner… but it didn't. Well, it was rather a haunted one. Nonetheless, she charged up the stairs. With a yelp, she fell down, twisting her ankle. She slowly got up and put weight on her left ankle, and winced. Forget her pain for a few seconds, she stepped up to the door and banged on the deteriorating wood.

"Hello?" she screamed, her voice cracking, "Please… it's freezing! Can I stay?"

* * *

"What the…" he whispered, setting down his book and going over to the living room window. A young woman, obviously a tourist, was banging on his front door. He sighed, and prepared to scare her away. He preformed his usual routine of growling and running his claws along the window. She jumped back in terror, but instead of running, she collapsed. He tilted his head to the side and refrained himself from laughing. She had fainted. It was cold outside, and he didn't want her to freeze to death. He made his way through the old and creaky house to the front door. He opened it and shivered. It must have been colder than he thought…

He knelt down and studied the woman that had come knocking on his door. She was young like he thought… perhaps her early twenties. She had dark brown hair, almost dark enough to be mistaken for black. Her eyes were closed, and she was a pretty well put together. Nice curves-

He mentally slapped himself for thinking something like that. "You've been alone to long…" he told himself, and then came up with an idea. He could keep this woman here….

No. It was better if no one knew he was here, or that he even existed. But he just couldn't leave her out here. Maybe if he woke her up she would flee in terror. He put a clawed hand on her shoulder, and shook her gently. She didn't even twitch. He sighed and felt her head, and gasped. She was burning!

So much for getting her out of here, because there was no doubt about it, she was coming inside. He couldn't take her to a doctor for two reasons. One, it was two in the morning, and none of them would be open. Second, in his current state, the doctors would run away and not aid the ill woman.

He gently scooped her into his arms and carried her inside, shutting the door skillfully with one of his wings.

* * *

Yuffie woke up to a crackling fire, and she smiled. 'I guess they found me' she thought. She slowly opened her gray eyes and looked around, her delight slowly turning into despair. Where was she? This wasn't the place that she thought it would be! The carpet was faded, cobwebs were everywhere, and the paint on the walls was peeling.

"I apologize for my lack of decorating, but I find it pointless when the days seems to just meld together into one." A deep voice said.

She struggled to sit up. "Who are you, and where am I?"

"Don't you think I should be asking the questions since you are the one that trespassed on my property?"

"Trespassed? I didn't see a sign that said I couldn't come here."

"Did you not know? This house is haunted… well, so the stories go."

"And… and how do the stories go?"

"Don't ask me, and I won't tell you. Deal?"

Yuffie swallowed nervously. "Okay… b-but who are you?"

"Who I am is a trivial matter. Who are you?"

"I asked you first!"

A deep sigh came from the doorway to the living room. "Just call me… Chaos."

"Chaos…" she repeated, tasting the name. "All right then Chaos, my name's Yuffie."

"A pleasure to meet you Ms. Yuffie."

She squinted her eyes to see the figure in the doorway more clearly. "So… do I ever get to see you?"

"I think it's best if you never see me. I'm something that should never have come into existence…" the voice hissed.

Yuffie rolled her eyes, "Gawd, do you have to be so morbid? I'm not going to freak out or anything, just come into the light."

"It's your fault." He voice said sadly, and moved.

Her eyes widened. This wasn't a man at all! A tall black creature stood before her, the skin taunt and well worked. If this had been a man, she would have considered him buff. He had fangs, and two horns coming out of his head. Two black wings were slightly extended out for her to see, and despite her shock and fear, Yuffie thought that they were pretty cool. Then the eyes… the eyes were blood red. They were dancing in the firelight, and Yuffie found herself eerily calm.

"You're a demon." She said softly.

Chaos sighed, "I am. If you wish, you can leave tomorrow to the doctor's office to get some medicine for your fever."

"I… I don't think I can. I twisted my ankle coming up the stairs…" she said with a blush. Why did she have to be such a klutz?

The demon nodded, "I understand. I request that you stay here until you are able to fully walk again… if you can stand my presence."

"Well, normally if a demon asked me to stay with them, I would have an issue. But, I think you've established that you're not the average demon."

"If you only knew how true that was." He muttered.

Yuffie tilted her head, "What did you say Chaos?"

"Nothing Miss Yuffie."

"Oh please! If I'm going to be staying here for a while... just call me Yuffie."

Chaos nodded, "Very well then… Yuffie. Perhaps you would like to tell me why you came to Nhebileheim later?"

Yuffie looked down at her hands nervously. "Just… promise you won't kick me out, okay?"

"I promise." He said firmly, and came over, "Now get back to bed." He told the young ninja as she settled down into the numerous blankets pilled on top of her. He put some more wood on the fire, and left the room. But before he went upstairs, he looked back at the young woman sleeping on the couch. He should probably stay down here and watch her. Chaos leaned his head against the doorframe and thought about the new possibility that had come knocking since he brought her into the old house.

He shook his head firmly. "No… she can't possibly help me. I need to stop thinking like that… I'm going to be like this for the rest of time, end of story."

Oh… but this isn't an ending… but a beginning. A new one, for both the ninja and demon.

* * *

A/N: Ahaha! I think I can have a whole lot of fun with this one... wish me luck! Now, I'm moving, so I might not be able to update as quickly as I like. Nonetheless, I shall update! Never fear! ((lol))

**marajade963** - Aw... you read everything. I luv u. ((hugs)) I'm glad that you enjoyed the first chapter. It was a good filler for you... wait, have you ever played FFVII?

**Tishannia** - OMG. You actually read it. This is so **COOL**! One of my FAVORITE FFVII authors likes my story! ((giggles)) Oh dear... I'm not sure if I can get it up to your level of writing, but I'm sure going to try! ((lol)) I have another FFVII one... oh dear. You won't see that one for a LONG time...

**Empress-Eerian-Shadow** - Do you guys want to **_KILL_** me! Another favorite author of mine reading my fic... oh geez. I need to breathe... ((lol)) No one has done a Beauty and the Beast rewrite? Seriously? I thought that this would be an old idea... guess not! I'm glad that you like it too... yay!

**for always x** - Aw... you read this too! I'm so happy...

**Thank you so much for reading... now review plz... and thank you! **

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_


	3. The Gardens

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 3**

_The Gardens

* * *

_

When Yuffie stirred, Chaos sat up straighter in his chair. "Did you sleep well?" he asked softly.

She blinked a few times in his direction, and then nodded sleepily. "Yeah… I didn't know couches could be so comfy…"

"I apologize about you having to sleep here. A room with a bed is… well… rather uninhabitable right now. I'm going to have to fix that."

"Really? You mean that?" Yuffie asked sitting up.

"If you're a guest, I won't have you sleeping on the couch. Now… why exactly are you here?"

"Oh… that…" she said quietly, and looked down at her hands in her lap. "It's long… so hang in there."

"My name is Yuffie Kisaragi, daughter of Lord Godo of Wutai. He's the ruler, and I am to take the throne after him. But seeing as a woman cannot take the throne by herself, she must get married with her father's approval. Of course… I do not approve of my chosen husband, and I made that clear on a number of occasions. I just got rid of the third one a few days ago, and I know my father is determined to get me married to some jerk. So… I ran. I wanted to head to the Gold Saucer, but I've never been on this continent. So naturally I got lost and wound up here."

"So you're a runaway princess." Chaos said in a monotone voice.

"A 'princess'? I've never been called that before… just Lady Yuffie."

"Well, if you're father is the ruler, that makes you a princess to me." The demon said, coming to squat down next to the couch and felt her forehead. "Good, you're fever's gone down. You stay here and I'll see what I can do about getting you an actual room."

* * *

**Two Days Later…**

Yuffie's fever was gone, and her ankle in a brace so she could walk around a little bit while the demon got her room ready. Chaos soon learned that she hated to be confined to the house. So, in attempts to return his sanity to a normal level, he let her go on a walk through the gardens behind the house.

She could tell this was once a beautiful house, she really could. I mean… just look at the size of this place! She passed rows of untrimmed rose bushes and hedges, making progress a little difficult. Chaos said to keep the walking down to a minimum, but hey, a little climbing never hurt anyone. She climbed up a gnarly hedge, and landed ungracefully on her rear.

"Owie… gawd, why does everything have to happen to me?" she whined, looking around at her new surroundings. She stood up and tested her left foot gingerly. It gave a few twinges, but it supported her weight. Yuffie took a few experimental steps… only to trip over a roof. She fell flat on her face with a cry. Letting out a string of curses, she got up with some difficulty. Her ankle was hurting more, but she ignored it. She limped down the ruined walkway toward a huge pond.

Yuffie's breath caught at the beauty of it. A dark blue pond was a shimmering black mass in the early morning light. The willow trees were the tallest the young woman had ever seen, its branches hanging down and giving the place a secluded feel. They were slowly dying, but that didn't detract from their majesty. A few flowers still survived, creating a small area of yellow tulips. The grass was a little worn, but still gave the picture a light green color.

Rocks were in the pond, huge ones to be exact. But in the center stood the biggest one with a flat top. A black statue sat atop of it, kneeling over the side. It held a huge chalice that Yuffie assumed used to spout water into the pond below. It was the perfect image of beauty in a forgotten mansion. Maybe there was still hope for this place, and then demon that dwelled inside.

Suddenly, the water began to shift. Yuffie kept in a scream as she looked at the huge snake that was eyeing her with one large, gold eye.

"Who are you?" It hissed. "Thisss isss my pond!"

"I… I'm… s-s-sorry…" she gasped, backing away.

"No one comessss and invadesss my pond and livesss! Sssay good bye to life!"

It was now she screamed.

* * *

Chaos stopped putting the sheets on the bed, tilting his head to the side. Did he just hear someone… scream? He straightened up and listened intently. Hearing nothing, he went downstairs to check on Yuffie.

She wasn't in the living room where he left her, and nor was she in the kitchen or study. A little dread seeped into his dark interior and he began to look through the house, even in the attic. When he didn't find her, he began to panic. Was it her that screamed? Where was she?

The gardens! He let her go there because she was driving him to utter insanity. She promised she wouldn't go to far in, seeing as he had no idea what had taken residence in the gardens the past thirty years. Then he heard another scream. There was no doubt about it.

It was Yuffie.

* * *

This snake wasn't about to let up. It had tried to snap at her a few times, but she always managed to duck away in the nick of time. But her injured ankle was slowing her down, and the serpent knew that. So with glee, the snake began to taunt her.

"Life isss ssso ssshort, don't you agree little one? It isss too bad that you have to die like thisss…"

"Shut up! You don't know a thing about dying! I'm going to get out of this and you're going to be dead!" Yuffie countered with more confidence than she felt.

The snake laughed. "You think ssso? No one hasss defeated me! I've been here sssince that ssscientissst left that demon here to rot! He hasss not even ventured out of that mansssion to defeat me! You know why? Becaussse he can't!"

"Do you wish to rethink that?" A cold voice said. Yuffie and the snake looked up, each with their own expressions. Yuffie seemed about to faint with relief, and the snake looked like it would much rather be dead right then.

Chaos looked down at the snake with a burning gaze. "Do you wish to rethink that?" he repeated.

The snake began to slide back down into the pond, but Chaos knew better. He swooped down and caught the snake around the head. He flew upward, carrying the snake out of the water. The serpent thrashed, knocking the demon of course. He hit a tree and dropped his charge. The snake hissed in glee and began striking at the demon. Chaos did his best to get away, and he was doing a pretty good job at that. Yuffie was scampering away from the scene, not wanting to get hit. She didn't have her weapon, which made her extremely angry. She was a ninja! She was _always_ prepared!

Chaos roared. Yuffie spun back around to see what had happened, and gasped. The red-eyed demon was lying on the ground, a decent piece of his right wing missing.

"Chaos!" she screamed, stumbling towards him.

"Yuffie! Don't, get back!" he cried, putting up a clawed hand.

But the snake all ready saw her move. His tail moved and wrapped around her running form and lifted her off of the ground.

"Not ssso fassst my little pretty!" The snake hissed with an evil malice.

Chaos's eyes narrowed. Nothing would harm her, not even him. He failed to protect Lucrecia from Hojo… and he wasn't about to let Yuffie die before his eyes. He stood up, his right wing throbbing painfully, a little blood trickling from the wound. He silently thanked whatever power there was that his wings were mostly made of skin. He tried to fly, but he couldn't get off of the ground. He growled, and the serpent turned to look at him.

"Well… the sssisssy demon hasss decided to ssstand up againssst me!"

Yuffie became even more afraid. She saw the anger and hate burning inside Chaos… more like felt it really. When he looked up, she gasped.

Gone were his blood eyes, but replaced with a pair of bright amber. A light surrounded him, and his wing was healed. He let out a growl, and took to the skies. His eyes aglow, he held one of his clawed hands to the sky. A growing ball of energy formed in the palm of his hand, slowly forming something red. With a crack, Chaos held a deep, red rose in his hand.

Yuffie felt like laughing. A rose? How was a ROSE going to help? Chaos seemed a little shocked by the rose as well, but nonetheless he used it.

He twirled it in between his fingers, and then threw it at the snake, the stem pointing right between the snake's eyes. It made contact, and the serpent froze. Then it hissed in pain and rolled his head back. Chaos saw his chance, and took it.

He swooped down and caught Yuffie by the hand. She was instantly plucked from the snake's hold. The both of them flew away a few feet, but Yuffie became frightened.

She had every right to be. She was slipping.

"CHAOS!"

He looked down and saw her petrified face and became very aware that her hand was slipping from his huge one. Without even thinking, he pulled his hand up sharply, bring Yuffie with it. He hoped that she would fly up with his hand, but he only managed to let go. Seeing her fall released an emotion within him that he hadn't felt in a long time.

Fear.

Chaos plummeted down and caught her a few feet above the ground, and flew away from the pond at top speed. The snake was still roaring in pain, but not from the rose piercing its skin. The rose was letting off beams of light, and they were going just about everywhere. Chaos stopped flying and turned around in mid-air to watch the events unfold.

Beams of light were dancing all over the surface of the water, and the snake began to fall backward. As unexpectedly he came, he disappeared into nothing. The rose that was in between his eyes slowly floated to the ground.

The two watched in fascination as the pond slowly came back to life. The faded grass slowly regained it's healthy green color and as the weeds vanished. The yellow tulips multiplied, and some of them turned red, and others became a combination of the two colors, and some just stayed the same. White lilies materialized and began floating on the surface of the water along with some lily pads. The weeping willows seemed to get their life back and the branches seemed to be a little less weepy. The rocks in the pool went from a dull gray to a deep red, and the statue changed as well.

The black demon faded, only to be replaced with a white, marble angel. Shoulder length hair hung in her delicate face, and her wings were folded behind her back as the jug she held slowly began to spout water once again. The rose floated down, and settled behind the statue's ear.

* * *

A/N: Yay! An update! Whoot whoot! This might not happen again for a while b/c I'm moving... I may all ready said that... but I'm moving! I'll keep writing, don't worry!

_You're probably wondering why Chaos attacked with a ROSE. Well, here's why:_

1. A single red rose means, "I love you". But Chaos doesn't love Yuffie! Well, ever heard the saying, "Love conquers all"? Yeah, there ya' go. That's why the snake combusts.

2. I've always thought that love brought out the beauty in everyone, thus the pond and surrounding area returned to how it looked thirty years ago.

3. I had Chaos attack with a flower because I never saw flowers as something delicate. Okay, well, they are, but they're more than that. A flower can say a lot of things without trying, which doesn't make them weak at all. And a rose conveys a powerful message, thus it's a powerful flower.

**Get it? Got it? Good.**

**for always x  
Lord Makura  
Casseh Valentine  
Empress-Eerian-Shadow  
marajade963**

Thank you all for reviewing! Please, let me know if you have any ideas to add!

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_


	4. Red And White

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 4**

_Red And White

* * *

_

Chaos nodded his head in satisfaction. Yuffie's room was finally done. He went down to the living room, only to find her asleep on the couch. Looking at the grandfather clock that some how still worked, it was two in the morning. He smiled slightly, and gently scooped the young woman into his arms and carried her upstairs to her new room. He laid her down and placed her under the covers.

"Sleep well young one." He whispered, and quietly shut the door behind him.

He made his way up to his attic home, deep in thought. Hojo said that the curse set upon him could only be broken by true love. Chaos snorted. True love? Didn't he all ready have it? Thinking back on the days with Lucrecia… he didn't have it. Nothing close to it. He didn't love her with all of his heart, but he loved her… no, he didn't. He said that he did because she hated Hojo. Things were so twisted then… Chaos just wanted to throw it out the window. But he couldn't just throw himself out no could he?

The demon sighed and walked over to the rose… that damn rose, that Hojo left him.

"_You have until every single petal on this red rose falls. When it does… you will never see the human you again."_

Did Hojo do this to him on purpose? Chaos thought numbly. He remembered every detail about that night clearly. It was the night he lost everything he knew and was forced to live as a demon of old. He had to learn how to love…

Chaos snorted. What was love anyway? He never learned. He was orphaned at a young age and joined the Turks when he was sixteen. He never saw love and never experienced it. Fitting that he would have to figure it out to save himself.

Despite the fact that he didn't have a lot of knowledge about love, Chaos did know it wasn't something to take lightly, and that no one falls in love overnight. But, he's coming pretty close. That young woman that fell upon his doorstep two weeks ago had been in his thoughts since. She was so young… just turned 20 a month ago according to her. What would she know about this? Chaos hopped she didn't know anything about the curse, and never would.

The demon closed his red eyes and sighed. That was a lie. He hoped that someone would break this curse of his, and he secretly hoped that it would be someone that he can tolerate. Yuffie had been… rather difficult to adjust to, but now hat he's done it… Chaos couldn't imagine life in the mansion without the hyper ninja.

Was this love? Being unable to imagine life without someone? To love their presence in the room, even if they weren't there to talk to you? To make sure that they were as happy as you could possibly make them?

Chaos groaned and put his claws on the wall, holding him up while he hung his head. This was just perfect.

* * *

Yuffie awoke in an extremely warm bed. She sat bolt upright to see where she was, only to discover that she was in a room that Chaos must have been working on for her. She smiled and looked around. He listened to her pretty well. She had told him about Wutai and it's culture and he had decorated her room pretty close to how her room looked back home.

Tatami matting covered most of the floor, but where there wasn't matting was the bed. It was a regular bed, but Yuffie didn't care. A low desk was off to one side with a puffy pillow as her seat. The walls were a light green that gave the room a relaxing air. She saw a dresser matching the bed and desk and smiled. He had really outdone himself.

She wanted to thank him, so she got up. Bad mistake. With a yelp, she collapsed. "Guess my ankle isn't in top shape…" she muttered.

"No, it's not." Chaos said from the doorway and helped her back onto her bed. "Yesterday really tried you and your ankle. You really need to rest Yuffie."

"So I have to stay in bed?" she said with a pout.

The demon smiled despite his efforts. "Yes you do. Don't worry, I'll see how it is in the morning."

Yuffie was true to her word and didn't get out of bed once the entire day, except to use the restroom. Chaos came in before noon and nodded in satisfaction.

"You're good to go."

"See? I can listen to what you say."

"I see. You listen to me, but not your father?" Chaos teased, shaking his head. "My dear what are we going to do with you?"

"Nothing! You're going to let me stay here!"

The demon met her stormy gray gaze, "You know that you can't."

"I can certainly try!" Yuffie cried, looking sadly at the demon. "I don't want to go back! Don't kick me out!"

Chaos shook his head, "I have no intention of doing that Yuffie. But then again I don't want a group of ninjas banging on my door and demanding that I release you."

The young woman sighed. "Godo doesn't know where I am."

"What makes you think that he won't follow you?" Chaos said softly, sitting down on the bed.

"I… I don't want to think about that."

"Then you won't. I'll brace that ankle of yours again and let's see if you want to go for a little walk."

Yuffie's face immediately brightened up. "Really? You mean it?"

"Of course I do."

She smiled and Chaos' stomach did a flip. _Oh great_… he thought to himself.

* * *

The demon had supplied her with warmer clothes. Well, rather a warmer dress and coat. He apologized for not having anything with pants, but Yuffie just waved it away. As long as she was warm, she didn't really care what she wore. But she did have to have some help lacing up the back of the dress. Chaos' claws were **actually shaking**. Yuffie laughed and asked him what the problem was.

"I've never done this before… but I know women were supposed to do this, not men."

She laughed, "Well, you're a demon!"

"Yes, but I'm a _male_ demon. I shouldn't be doing this."

She rolled her eyes, "Do you see any females here to do it?"

Chaos sighed and began to lace up the corset. Yuffie gave a squeak. "Are they supposed to be this tight?"

"Yes."

"Great." She muttered under her breath. After she had slipped on the dress, she turned to face the demon. "Chaos, do you know who these dresses belong to?"

"I do not. These dresses were here before long before I was. This mansion has a history that I'm not even sure I could explain."

As they began to walk, Chaos stopped her and handed her some gloves and a cloak. Yuffie put them on. "Well, do you know how old this place is then?" she asked.

"I think that this mansion was built around the time when Midgar was still ruled by a king and queen. This used to be some baron's land I believe."

"Whoa… but... how did this dress last that long?"

"Oh I'm sure that this isn't an original. I think it might be a remake. Nibelheim used this mansion as a tourist attraction before a scientist bought it. The dresses were just left here I guess."

"When was the scientist here?" Yuffie asked.

Chaos smiled. He was used to her endless questions. It drove him to insanity the first week, but he was used to it now. Actually, he rather liked it. "The scientist was about here thirty years ago."

The young woman blinked. "Whoa. So you've been here for thirty years?"

Now they were coming up on territory that Chaos didn't want to be in. "Yes." He said in a tone that suggested Yuffie should stop. Thankfully, she got the unspoken message. They had been walking outside for some time now, and Yuffie was looking all around her at the snow. With a plan brewing in her mind, she ran ahead.

Chaos sighed, "Yuffie, you shouldn't be running on that ankle."

"Oh I do plenty of things that I shouldn't!" she called back, jumping behind a tree.

He stopped walking and glared at the tree. "If you ever want to get that ankle better, you need to-"

Chaos' sentence was cut off when a snowball hit him in the face. Yuffie laughed like mad and the demon just glared at her. When she saw his stare, she immediately began to think that a snowball fight was NOT a good idea.

But he surprised her when she felt a snowball hit her in the chest. With a gasp, she realized some of it had gone down into her dress. "Chaos! That's cold!"

His red eyes widened when he saw her expression. "Oh my, Yuffie… did it go down your dress?" When she nodded, he busted out laughing.

"Chaos! It's not funny! It's REALLY cold!" And to prove her point, she picked up another snowball and threw it at him, knocking the tip of his wing.

"HEY! Watch the wings!" he called, readying another snowball.

"Yeah, well you watch where you're throwing them too!" She laughed as she threw one. Chaos dodged it, and successfully hit her. For the next hour, it was a full out snowball fight. Now Yuffie was hiding behind a tree, the demon slowly coming up to her armed with two snowballs.

"Give up Yuffie!" He called.

She laughed breathlessly, "Never!" and with that, she jumped out from behind the tree and tackled Chaos to the ground. She successfully did so, but the unfortunate couple landed in a snow bank.

She sat up on top of Chaos, a big grin on her face. He couldn't help it. He busted out laughing.

She joined in seconds later. They sat like that for a minute and Yuffie struggled to regain her breath. "Wow, you take being tackled into a snow mound pretty well!"

"Oh?" He said with a glint in his eye, and flung Yuffie off of him… only to have her land in the snow next to him.

"CHAOS! THAT'S COLD!" she screamed, and the demon just laughed even harder. He stood up, shook his wings free of the white flakes, and helped her out of the mound. Chaos took her hand gently in his claw when she smirked. She pulled down sharply, resulting in Chaos being on top of her. He supported most of his weight on his free claw and looked sternly down at her. But the glance slowly became a soft one as he stared into her gray eyes. She was so close…

Mentally slapping himself, Chaos turned his head to the side. Yuffie knew that he couldn't blush, but his body language clearly showed that he was embarrassed. She smiled apologetically, "Sorry Chaos. Couldn't help it."

"It's understandable." He said with a small smile and once again helped her up. But when she was up, Yuffie didn't let go. They walked back to the house, hand in claw.

* * *

Halfway back to the house, Yuffie said that her ankle was throbbing. Without a word, Chaos scooped her into his arms, which made her laugh. He smiled down at her and hugged her closer to his chest and went up the back steps.

After sitting her down before the fire with a book, Chaos went for a glide over the property. Flying to the top of the roof, he sat down and looked over the white gardens.

"True love…that's my freedom." He whispered. "It's just not what I need to be free, it's what everyone needs."

As a human, Chaos had seen love. Couples walking down the street hand in hand, parents playing with the children and gazing at their spouses. He thought that he had found it, that he had it, but Hojo showed him the truth.

"I should hate that man… but the longer I'm like this, the wiser he becomes." Chaos muttered. He smirked and shook his head sadly. Things were so confusing right now, and no doubt Godo would be looking for Yuffie. She couldn't stay here forever…but yet Chaos found himself wanting her to.

He leaned his head back and groaned. "Why does this have to happen to me? I'm blessed with a vivacious, loving, lively, caring and beautiful woman when I need one the most. She's not perfect, but that's what makes her the way she is… that's what makes her attractive. Damn it… I'm… eh, whom am I deceiving? Who could ever love a demon?"

As Chaos pondered about numerous things, he flew back to his attic home. He landed and closed the floor length window behind him. Turning to the levitating rose on the table, he watched in horror as a petal fell off and gracefully fell and joined others like it. Chaos rushed to the table and counted all of the fallen petals. With despair, he counted four. Counting the remaining petals, he discovered there were ten. He didn't know how many had fallen a day, or even if they fell by the hour. He placed his head in his claws and for the first time, truly felt that he would never again be human.

Raising his head, he looked out at the window at the falling snow. Everything was so white… so pure. Just like Yuffie.

He looked down at the rose and fallen petals, which were a deep and vibrant red. He sighed. He felt that the red was him, someone that's seen bloodshed and felt a blood rage.

The pure white against the blood red. And odd combination… but nonetheless, a possible picture. Or, so he hoped.

* * *

A/N: I find it kind of repetitive and annoying when everyone says that Vinent's lamenting of Lucrecia. But, what if he just wanted her out of his memory? See, different view makes it an entirely new field of possibilities. Plus… Vincent is way too depressed. And this is YUFFIE that's living with him. It's gonna rub off sometime! I know that Vincent/Chaos is a dark and brooding character, but I soon discovered that's hard for me to write a character like that. I plan on writing another FFVII fic sometime, so I'll get him in his true element then. Until then... yeah, I'm having fun with this new kind of guy.

**Empress-Eerian-Shadow  
Lord Makura  
ToriTsubasa  
marajade963  
Noon6  
VampyreQueen24  
Raven2120  
Tishanna  
DemonSurfer  
Chaotic Rei**

Well... people seem to like this story of mine. Yay! Makes me want to write more FFVII stuff... oh goodie! More things to write! Life's just peachy.

Thank you all for reviewing, and reading!

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_


	5. Unknown Secrets And Unanswered Questions

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 5**

_Unknown Secrets And Unanswered Questions

* * *

_

Yuffie was feeling adventurous. Chaos was out on a long flight, and most likely wouldn't be back until later that morning. She was the only one in a huge and mysterious mansion. What treasures were waiting to be discovered? What mysteries were left untouched? What is the truth behind Chaos actually living in the mansion? Why doesn't he leave?

Yuffie wanted answers. And by Leviathan she was going to get them.

Chaos knew from experience that Yuffie wasn't going to stay still and let her ankle heal properly. She was born to move, and he wasn't going to fight it. So, he managed to dig up a pair of sturdy crutches for her, and the young ninja was much more happier with this new development. She left her usual spot in the living room and went into the study across the hall.

The demon had been making progress at making the mansion livable, and he was doing a pretty good job. Yuffie noticed that he had done the study, so nothing that he wanted to keep hidden was going to be in here. With some disappointment, she left the room, closing the door behind her.

She knew that Chaos probably cleared out everything downstairs, so she slowly made her way up the somewhat faulty staircase. He always demanded that he carry her up these stairs. She took a few steps, and nearly fell. Now she understood why. A few minutes later, she was at the top, feeling very proud of herself. She was pretty good with these crutches all ready. She investigated the first few rooms, which were just filled with cobwebs and boxes. She passed her room, and noticed a door next to her room that she had never seen before.

Yuffie creaked the door open, and gasped.

It was an art studio! She hurried in and looked around in wonder. Unused easels were everywhere, and plenty of dusty worktables. She silently wondered if there was any paint around.

Yuffie knew how to paint, but like she would ever let anyone know that. But, it was still an encouraging sign. It was next to her room too! The young ninja searched the room, and found the treasure.

A paint palette along with brushes and paints! Fantastic! Yuffie was itching to paint now, but she held it in. Who knows what else she could find! She was on a role, why stop now?

Making her way out of the studio, she walked down the hall, growing uneasy. She always saw Chaos go down this hall when he dropped her off at her room after carrying her up the stairs. She assumed it was a place that he would have cleaned out…

But it wasn't.

Yuffie slowly passed endless doors of old wood, looking around in slight apprehension. She half expected something to pop out at her at any given moment. Reaching the end of the hallway, she stopped. She didn't turn around, for something seemed to be pulling her toward the wall. Her instincts told her to go up, but there wasn't any stairs!

But, the nagging in her veins told her to go anyway. With slight suspicion, Yuffie felt along the walls for something…

A _doorknob_?

Her heart leapt to her throat. What was a hidden door doing here? What did it hide, or what did it keep locked up? Knowing Chaos would tell her if something dangerous in the house, she immediately dismissed there being a monster behind the door. Yuffie knew that Chaos was special and that he didn't tell her certain things… but why? What did he not want her to know?

So, with a shaky breath, she opened the door. She was greeted with a long flight of well-used stairs. With a sly smile, she leaned her crutches against the wall. A little walking wouldn't hurt her. She climbed the endless flight of stairs in about the space of a minute because she was so excited to see what was at the top.

When she reached the top, she was confronted with another door. Her previous excitement faded away into a dull fear and paranoia. What **was** up here anyway?

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she opened the last door between her and the answers she sought.

Disappointing. It was just an attic. Yuffie wanted to laugh at her previous alarm at something being up here. Looking around to see if her trip was worthless, she soon discovered it wasn't.

A rose… on a table? A glowing rose to be exact. It seemed to support itself, and didn't even have a vase of water! Yuffie quickly walked over and looked at it in confusion.

Chaos was hiding a **rose**? What's up with that? Was this his biggest secret?

She would have loved to investigate more, but her instincts told her to get out of there, and fast. Not hesitating, she ran to the exit, shut the door, flew down the stairs, shut that door, and plucked up her crutches from the wall.

Yuffie didn't even bother to use them. She carried them down the abandoned hall and not once looked back.

When she left the corridor, it was once again silent. The hidden door vanished from sight, just like it was supposed to. But the secrets of Chaos remained covered. All that door brought Yuffie was more questions. Exactly what she needed.

* * *

Chaos landed on the front porch of the house and entered. "Yuffie?" he called.

"Yes?" she answered from the living room, right where he left her.

He entered the now cozy room and found her reading a book, plopped down on the couch. He tilted his head to the side and pondered how he was going to say this. "Yuffie… would you like a tour of the mansion?"

"Huh?" she asked, looking up from her book. "A tour? I've done some exploring myself, but I would love to hear about the actual history of the house."

"All right, I'll meet you at the stairs." Chaos said with a smile.

The young ninja grinned and gathered her crutches and began to make the slow process of moving out of the room. Yuffie decided it best to not reveal where exactly she had been exploring. She was going to go back to that room, and she was going to get down to the bottom of this.

Chaos let her out of the room, but stopped. He turned back to see exactly what she had been reading. Knowing it would take her a while to walk down the hall to the stairs, he picked it up and read the title.

Myths and Legends of the Planet.

Chaos immediately stopped. What could she be reading this for? Spying a bookmark in the pages, he flipped to it. Going back a page, he discovered what exactly she had been reading.

"Demon Gunslinger".

His heart froze. "She knows." He whispered to the dark room.

"**She knows."**

**

* * *

**

A/N: Wow. That's REALLY short. I usually don't write short chapters like this, but that's just how they keep turning out. Oh well, I guess if I update often it won't really matter huh? ((lol)) Well, I hope this was a fun chapter to read...

**Chaotic Rei  
Raven2120  
marajade963  
DemonSurfer  
Empress-Eerian-Shadow  
ToriTsubasa  
Girl-who-sings-the-blues  
Tishanna  
Damon Demon**

Thank you all so much! I didn't think this idea would be so popular... thanks for reviewing everyone!

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_


	6. Affection And Hope

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 6**

_Affection And Hope

* * *

_

Chaos had shown Yuffie the studio, but she said that she had found it all ready, much to his disappointment. He had left her to paint while he busied himself cleaning the room up. She tried not to stare at him too long. She silently cursed herself for being a sucker for anything that had a brain, talked, and had muscle. She saw him move furniture with ease, muscles tensing and working hard to move things to clear her way.

She looked back at the easel, and wondered what to paint. The rose that she found immediately popped into her head, but she made herself think of something else. Yuffie knew that from the rose's location that it was something Chaos didn't want her to see. So, if she painted it, she knew that he would get suspicious. And that was literally the last thing she wanted to happen, right along with Godo finding her hiding place. She knew that her freedom wouldn't last long, seeing as it had been almost two months since she'd run away. But she wasn't about to let that get to her. She was going to enjoy herself. Chaos had the amazing ability to tell what she was feeling before Yuffie herself even knew.

So, she set down her paintbrush and picked up her crutches. Chaos looked up at her with some curiosity in his red orbs. "Are you not going to paint?"

"I can't think of anything. I'm going to go to my room and sketch something. I brought pencils and my sketchbook with me." She explained, making her way towards the door.

"All right then. I'll be in here if you need me."

* * *

Yuffie plopped herself down on her bed with a few pencils and her sketchbook. It was mostly filled with the land and beauty of Wutai, but she didn't want to draw any kind of landscape.

She wanted to draw someone.

She'd never actually drawn a person in a really long time, but her drawing teacher said that she made a pretty damn good person.

But then again… she's only drawn humans.

Yuffie didn't know why, but she really wanted to draw a rose…

Or Chaos.

There, she admitted it. Why she didn't know, but she knew that if she didn't do it, then the thought of drawing him would never leave. She really wanted to get a realistic drawing of him, but she was too embarrassed to ask him to pose for her. Besides… she decided it would be best for her to get fluent in drawing people, or in this case, demons, before she formally asked him.

* * *

Chaos sighed and left the studio. It would probably need another day of work, but Chaos didn't mind. He wasn't about to admit that he had been getting slightly out of shape since Hojo left, but he really had. Working on the house certainly had been restoring his lost muscle and build. He felt better in about a week, and silently wondered why he didn't start cleaning the house earlier.

Turning toward the abandoned corridor, he went through the secret door, up the stairs, and entered the attic. He was wondering how on the planet Yuffie had found that book in his library. He'd certainly never seen the title before. He wondered if she had brought it with her, and that seemed like the only logical explanations. Chaos had never read the story since he had never seen the book, but he had a good idea of what the story was talking about…

Him.

He wasn't about to tell the young ninja about the human him, even if she did ask, or even confirm that he was a human before this. He had been a Turk, and one of the best. Commonly known as a gunslinger, he would do most of the Turk's biggest assignments. Everyone knew his name, but he didn't dwell long on it.

He looked at the rose on the table, and with a cry noticed that two more petals had fallen. It seemed that they didn't fall in a pattern, they just fell. It didn't make sense. Why did they start to fall since Yuffie's been in the mansion? Chaos came over to the table, and starred at the rose as if waiting for it to give him the answers he wanted. Six petals had fallen, and only eight remained.

Yuffie had been here for almost two months… six weeks to be exact. Then it hit him. He had only eight weeks to break the curse. He let out a groan and sank to his knees, his claws still on the wood table. How was he supposed to do that? He knew that Godo would find her before long, way before eight weeks to be sure. So who knows how long he really had? Chaos knew that once the first petal fell that the petals would continue to fall, even if Yuffie left the mansion.

Eight weeks. That may seem like a lot to some people, but that's nowhere near enough for a cursed demon.

He lifted his head and looked at the rose, feeling something that he'd hadn't ever felt before. He'd felt fear and embarrassment for the first time in years. But that's not what he felt now.

He was in despair. For the first time, he knew that hope was just a fleeting memory, and would most likely never return to him and save him from the darkness that was determined to have his soul.

For the first time in his life as a human, and as a demon… Chaos cried.

* * *

Yuffie set down her sketchbook with a sigh. She had to get out of this house before she lost it. She knew that there was no hope of her getting down the stairs herself, but she was also aware that Chaos was no longer in the studio. She hadn't heard him go downstairs, so that left only one place for him to be.

The attic.

Yuffie may not be the person to think before she acts, but she definitely knew better than to go looking for him up there. That means that she knew where it was, and that she had seen the rose. That would have been very, very bad. So, the young ninja sat on her bed and thought about her options. Should she paint? Should she sketch some more? Should she take a nap?

But none of those thoughts came into play when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She looked at in surprise. "Come in!" she called.

Chaos opened the door a crack. Spying her on the bed, he opened the door fully. "I was wondering if I might ask you a question Yuffie."

"You just did, but go ahead." She said cheerfully. He shook his head at her antics and proposed a flight. Yuffie tilted her head to the side. "A flight? Chaos… I can't fly."

"This would be true. But, I know that I can carry you."

Her eyes lit up and she sat up straighter on the bed. "Really? Would you really carry me Chaos?"

He smiled despite his efforts. "Of course I would. Now, are you ready to go?"

Chaos had a hard time focusing during the entire flight. Not only was he worried that he would somehow drop Yuffie, but just the young woman in general was very distracting. She was so warm and small… she fit perfectly into his arms. He knew that Yuffie was a kind soul, but he really had a hard time believing that she could fall in love with someone like him. Nonetheless, he dreamed that this curse would be broken one day. And the more he thought about it, the more he found himself dreaming that Yuffie would be the one to do it. She had been the only one that had even talked to him in thirty years, let alone live with him for a month and a half. Deciding that she wouldn't like freezing from the cold winter air, Chaos landed softly on the grass, and began to walk toward the back of the house.

Yuffie was smiling like a child, and looked up at Chaos. "That was AMAZING! Do you think that we could do that sometime soon?"

He laughed as he went up the stairs to the second floor. "Of course we can Yuffie. Now, I think you should get some sleep. I'll bring your dinner up to you." With that, he set her back on her feet in front of her room.

"Thanks Chaos!" she said happily, giving him a hug. He was startled, but didn't hesitate returning her hug. She pulled away and made a move to open her door, but stopped and turned to look back at him.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked, looking into her stormy gray eyes.

Without Chaos not even noticing she moved, she slid up to him and stood up on tiptoe. With a swift movement, Yuffie placed a kiss on Chaos' somewhat smooth cheek and fled into her room.

He stood there, looking at the door that separated him and the woman that currently had his inside flipping. For the first time, Chaos broke out into a true smile. He raised a claw to his cheek, the memory of her lips there lingering in his mind.

He wasn't used to this kind of affection, but there was one thing he was sure about. He didn't mind it all.

And the hope that Chaos thought he would never have again came back to him in a slow trickle.

Life didn't seem so bad.

* * *

A/N: Eh, well, so much for longer. Don't worry, things get a little more fluffy in the next chapter... orat least interesting.

**for always x  
Tishanna  
Raven2120  
ToriTsubasa  
Girl-who-sings-the-blues  
marajade963  
DemonSurfer  
Empress-Eerian-Shadow  
Chaos'babe**

Thank you so much for reviewing you guys!

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_


	7. Painting A Dream

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 7  
**  
_Painting A Dream_

* * *

It was a dark place in the mansion. Every place was dark, but this place even more so. Yuffie walked down the hall, noticing she was going down slowly. When she stopped walking, she found herself in front of a huge, iron door. She put both of her hands on the handle and pulled with all of her might. Struggling for a few minutes, she opened the door a crack. She let her small body slip through, and was immediately scared at what she had found. She found herself in the scientist's lab. Voices came from inside, and she walked toward the lamplight. With horror, she realized that someone was on that examination table. The scientist pulled out a needle and injected it into the man's arm. He scream, and his body began to shake, breaking the bonds around his hands and feet.

His skin turned gray, then black. With a sickening crunch and rip, wings appeared. His hands became claws, and fangs appeared. Black horns slowly came out of his head and the image was complete. Her hands flew to her mouth. Chaos wasn't a demon by birth! He had been turned into one by this monster of a man!

But the man he was before… who was he? Yuffie desperately wanted to know. She didn't see much of him, only that he was tall with raven black hair. As the dream faded, she knew that that question would constantly pester her.

That wasn't her only dream. It was as if some force wanted her to know the truth.

This time, she saw Chaos' face. Black skin, fangs, horns, the whole shebang. Then, half of his face transformed. Yuffie saw the same red eyes, but a much different face. Pale skin surrounded by a mane of raven black hair, minus the horns and fangs. With a start, Yuffie realized that this was the man Chaos must have been. She desperately wanted to see this man. He seemed so different, yet so alike. She wanted to know for sure. With that thought, her dream faded yet again.

Yuffie sat bolt up right and gasped. She looked around and found herself safely in bed in her room on the second floor… far from the basement. She scrambled out of bed and put something on. She had the sudden urge to paint.

* * *

A Week Later – Seven Petals Remain

Yuffie was bloody proud of the end result. She put a sheet over it and stuck it in the back so Chaos wouldn't find it. If he did, she would have to either think of a really good lie, or a really good excuse. Either way, she would have to do some serious fast-talking.

Walking back to her room, she noticed a box next to her bed. Wondering who on earth had sent her something, she walked over and opened it. Inside she found some material, probably silk, and a note. Yuffie picked it up and unfolded it, and immediately smiled.

_Yuffie,_

_I was cleaning out one of the spare bedrooms, and I found these in a closet. They're nicely preserved, and I've cleaned the ones that need it. I'll get those to you at a later date. Until then, I hope you enjoy these._

_-Chaos_

Setting the note down next to the box, she picked up the first… something. With a smile, she noticed it was a dress. But not the kind of dress that she wore once in a while, but one that was extremely elaborate, something that would probably be worn for an evening ball or dinner. Yuffie didn't know exactly, but she did know that it was one heck of a dress. Sapphire blue velvet… score! When she stood up and held it up against her, she fell in love with it. It was beautiful!

Yuffie set it down and looked into the box again. She found a few more dresses, and hung them up in her closet. She was about to do the same with the dress she first picked up, but grinned. Dinner was in a few minutes… perhaps she should stun him? "Sounds good…" she said and began to put it on.

* * *

Chaos finished lighting the candles, and put the matches back in the kitchen. He knew that they were tacky, but he really didn't care at this moment. He was going to try and do one thing right for a change. He was going to make sure that Yuffie had a good night.

"Chaos?" she said, coming into the dinning room.

"Yes?" he replied, turning around to look at her. The sight nearly made his jaw drop. She was wearing the one he set on top… and holy did she look good. It was sapphire blue velvet with sheer silver lower sleeves and silver flowering vine trim on the sleeves. The belt hung around her waist, but the front fell down in between her legs, the tassels swinging with every step she took. This was a true vision of beauty.

"Chaos, are you all right?" she asked with a small smile.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Yes, I'm fine. Just basking in the beauty of the woman standing in front of me."

Yuffie blushed. "Well, aren't we being charming?" she said to herself and sat down in the chair Chaos offered her. That didn't work. Evidently she didn't appreciate flattery. That was just fine with him; he was out of practice anyway. Dinner was a good, but Chaos had one more trick up his sleeve. When she was done, he led her into the parlor where he had moved the furniture against the walls.

"Chaos, what's going on?" she asked, watching him put a record on the record player in the corner.

"Is it wrong to dance to music?" he replied innocently as the orchestra came through.

Yuffie laughed, "Oh dear. Maybe now it's a bad time to tell you I don't dance…"

"Oh you dance just fine. Here, I'll show you how." Chaos told her, taking her right hand in his left and placing her left on his shoulder. He gently put his right claw on her waist, and they began to waltz.

Yuffie listened for a while, and smiled, "Hey, this is by Beethoven, is it not?"

"Yes, Fur Elise. You've heard it?"

"Heard it? Heck, I could probably play it!" Yuffie laughed, "Godo was determined to get me to play an instrument, which I reluctantly did. My playing, and painting, is a lot better than my dancing."

"What do you mean you're not a good dancer? You're fantastic!" He exclaimed, giving her a spin.

"Actually, I'm surprised I haven't tripped yet…" she muttered, and Chaos smiled. True to her word, she tripped. He caught her and drew her to him so she wouldn't hit the floor. Once she straightened up, she found herself facing away from Chaos with his arm wrapped securely around her. She leaned into his unintentional embrace and sighed. He didn't pull away or let her go like he thought he would. Instead, he wrapped both arms around her and let the orchestra music fill the room around them.

Chaos wanted to kiss her… badly. But he figured that the fangs would make the task difficult. It was driving him insane, but there really wasn't anything he could do about it. So, in attempts to get his point across, he gently caressed Yuffie's cheek with the back of his hand. She leaned into it, and sighed. He smiled and held her close as the last note of the song faded into to the dark room of the parlor.

* * *

A few days later, Yuffie went sketching in her room. Chaos didn't know exactly why she did it alone, but he wasn't about to frazzle the artist. Instead, he noticed that Yuffie had finally finished her painting. He had been waiting for the perfect moment to look at it, and now was it.

He crept into the studio, and saw it on an easel in the back, covered by a white sheet. He walked toward it and whipped off the sheet. He became instantly curious at what he saw.

The outer edges were purple, but gently faded into the colors that made up the face. It was half his, and half of a man he had never seen before. When dawning realization, he realized that had to be him… the human him. It's been thirty years, so of course his hair would be longer. The face of the man though… it looked realistic, like that's really what he would look like if he was freed from his curse. He looked up, and saw a huge, blooming rose above the face of two. A few petals lay at the bottom of the painting, but the rose still held its beauty.

Chaos knew know that she knew something. She must have seen the rose… she had to. But where did she learn what he looked like? He found something written in the bottom corner of the canvass, and bent down to read it.

**Visions of a Dream.**

He smiled; so she learned all of this in a dream? That may seemed like a little far-fetched to some, Chaos settled for it. He placed the sheet back over the painting and left the room like he was never there.

* * *

A/N: Yay... cute chapter... somewhat. :) The song I was listening to while writing out the dance scene was actually Fur Elise by Beethoven. Of course, I was listening to the Trans Siberian Orchestra version of it... but it's still the same song. Oh, by the way... the Trans Siberian Orchestra is the BEST no matter what you tell me! -lol- The song comes from Beetoven's Last Night album... and you'll most likely see a few more songs by the orchestra... oh dear. :)

**saharasfury  
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marajade963  
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Thank you so much for reviewing!

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_

P.S. I'm going on vacation tomorrow, so I won't be able to update for a week... this applies to all of my stories. Don't worry, I'll write them up, but don't expect an update until the first week of July or something.


	8. What An Artist Sees

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 8**

_What An Artist Sees _

* * *

Godo paced around his office. Where on this damn planet could his stupid daughter run? He'd been tracking her for weeks, and finally found her in Niebleheim. Where though was a mystery. He had sent out scouts, and he was eagerly awaiting their report. Yuffie was going to return home, get married, and settle down whether she liked it or not. No one was going to stand in his way. Not now, not ever.

Little did Lord Godo know that the object in his way… wasn't human.

"My Lord! We have it!" A scout panted, bursting into the room.

"Well! Where is she?" he asked, waiting for the answer impatiently.

"She is definitely in Niebleheim. Some villagers saw her come in late on night. She traveled down the road to an old mansion, and that's the last anyone saw of her."

"A mansion you say? Does this mansion have a history?"

"Yes. They say it's haunted by a demon and-"

"Leviathan! She's chasing ghost stories! I noticed that a book of myths was missing from my library, and she's the one who took it!" Godo ranted, pacing his office. The scout was silent, awaiting his Lord's orders. He stopped pacing and took a deep breath to calm himself. He turned to face the scout and gave the order.

"Bring her back here. No matter who you have to get rid of, no matter who you have to persuade… get her back within a month."

A Week and a Half Later – Six Petals Remain 

Yuffie sighed and brushed her hair out of her eyes with the back of her hand. Painting rooms was hard, and a lot different then painting on a canvas. Chaos tried to paint, but he ended up breaking the brush. So, it was all Yuffie repainting the parlor. She sat down with a groan on the couch, ready for some much needed relaxation.

"You know, you may look small, but you sure don't feel like it." A deep voice stated.

Yuffie squealed and shot up five feet in the air, spinning around to see Chaos lying on the couch. With a blush, she realized that she had sat in his lap. "Are you suggesting that I'm-"

"No! No, I was kidding!" The demon said hurriedly, "But I am surprised that you didn't know I was here."

"You're just… sneaky like that!" She retorted, not willing to admit that she didn't hear him enter the room.

He looked at her, his red eyes showing his mirth. "I'm 'sneaky'? My dear, you have the _most_ unusual vocabulary."

"Unusual?" Yuffie exclaimed, "Well excuse me! I'm not the one that says 'felicity'! Who says that? What in the world does that **mean**?"

Chaos laughed his rare, deep and beautiful laugh. "Yuffie dear, we really need to work on that. Felicity means happiness and bliss. And when did I use that?"

Yuffie huffed and sat down in an armchair, "Does it matter? I can't remember anyway." She told him. After a while, she broke the uncomfortable silence. "I'm hot."

Chaos almost said, "Yes you are," but he caught himself. After all, she was in a green sleeveless turtleneck and overalls with her hair pulled back. Who wouldn't think she was attractive? Mentally slapping himself for thinking for thinking like that, he sat up. He partially unfurled a wing and began to slow and steady rhythm of flapping. She smiled as the cool air hit her, and they sat like that for a while.

"How much more painting do you have to do?" the demon asked Yuffie, still acting as her fan.

"Just one wall." She said, eyes closed and enjoyed the cool air she was currently receiving.

Chaos stopped his fanning and looked at the newly scrubbed floors. Yuffie had done those too, which just made him feel worse. "I am so sorry about being unable to help you Yuffie. You don't even live here."

She frowned at the demon, and leaned forward to pat his arm. "You know, I might as well live here, I've been here so long. Geez… how long has it been exactly?"

"A little more than two months." Chaos said automatically. He almost died from embarrassment from the look on her face.

"You've been counting." She stated, a grin on her beautiful face. "You've been counting how many days you've had to put up with me!" she joked, secretly hoping that he had been counting the days that she had been here because he enjoyed her company.

"I've been counting how long you're willing to stay in the company of a demon."

"I can assure you that you're company is a _lot_ more pleasurable than some humans."

Chaos swallowed nervously and looked away from her gaze. "And how many humans company do you find more interesting?"

She stood up and came to stand in front of him, and looked straight into his red eyes. "When I find someone who's as **half** as kind to me as you are, I'll let you know." She said seriously, giving Chaos a kiss on the cheek and leaving the parlor. "Come on, let's take a break!" she called back over her shoulder.

The demon tried not to grin at her antics. Standing up, he followed her out of the room and up the stairs. Yuffie had been off of her crutches for a week now, and she clearly loved it. "Okay… this break isn't really a break cause you have to work at it, but it's a break from painting at least." Chaos smiled as he climbed up the long staircase behind the young ninja. She still wasn't back to normal, so she moved a little bit slower. But he knew that she wanted to get up the stairs herself. Instead, he gave her some silent motivation. He hesitantly reached a claw up to rest on her waist. Why he did _that_ was a mystery even to himself. Yuffie smiled to herself, and let him keep it there. When they reached the top of the stairs, he didn't move his hand either. Yuffie got her sketchbook and pencils from her room, and dragged Chaos into the studio by his claw.

Chaos sat down on a stool by the window, knowing exactly what Yuffie was doing. He was truly honored that she wanted to use her talents on him, but he felt slightly uncomfortable at being her subject. After all, he had never been drawn before. Then again, she wasn't an average artist. So, he settled down at comfortably as he could on a stool, and looked at the young ninja.

Yuffie flipped to a clean page, and sat behind the desk that she had pushed to view her latest subject. She starred at him for a while, which made Chaos almost ask her to stop. She was starring at him in such a way that he knew she wasn't looking at him. She was looking into him, and that's what made him uneasy. Thankfully, she stopped her scrutiny and picked up a pencil. She began to sketch and the silence around them seemed to block out the rest of the world to the two. It was all about the drawing, the pose, and the company… nothing else.

After about an hour, Yuffie looked at her drawing. She saw the real Chaos looking back at her, darkly shaded eyes considering the viewer. He sat upon a stood, his right foot on the top rung with his left on the lower one. His left claw rested on his leg, while his right arm was draped across his knee. His tail was wrapped around one of the back legs, while his wings were slightly extended, ready to be drawn.

Yuffie smiled and looked up at Chaos. "I'm done. Would you like to see it?"

He gave a start, and winced from holding the same position for so long. "Am I allowed to see it?"

"Of course, why wouldn't' you be?" Yuffie asked, somewhat startled.

"It's just that some artists like to keep their work to themselves." The demon explained.

"Well, it seems mean and rude to draw someone and then not let them see the finished product. After all, they would of have to have posed for a long time for it to be done."

Chaos got off of the stool and walked over to stand in front of Yuffie. "You didn't take very long, I was surprised."

"Eh, I didn't want you to have to sit for very long." She said with a blush, handing him the drawing.

Chaos took it from her gently and looked at it for a while. Yuffie was about to bite her nails she was so nervous. She didn't know why she was so nervous about his reaction, but she was really too anxious to worry about it.

The demon looked up at her, "I'm having a hard time grasping the fact that you've drawn me a lot better than I thought possible."

Yuffie blinked, trying to figure out what he meant. "You mean that you didn't know that I could draw that well?"

"No, I'm not questioning your ability at all." Chaos said, looking back down at the drawing. "I'm saying that I think even the most famous artist could get the detail in that you did."

She blushed from the compliment. "Do you draw?"

"Me? No, I like to admire the art that artists paint. I rather enjoyed the museums when I was a human-"

"What?" Yuffie exclaimed, standing up. "You were a human?"

Chaos' eyes widened when he realized that he had let that little detail upset. "I…"

"No way… wait a minute, how come you never told me?"

"I'd really not rather talk about it." Chaos said, more harshly than he had wanted.

Yuffie sat back down and looked at the desk. "I'm sorry." She said quietly. She knew that demons had a temper, Chaos especially.

He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "I didn't mean to snap, but I'd really rather not talk about it. It's rather depressing." Chaos explained, handing Yuffie back her sketchbook. "It's beautiful Yuffie."

She smiled and shook her head. "No, it's alright. You can keep it. I don't have many drawings in that one anyway."

"Are you sure?" He asked, surprised by her offer.

"Yeah, I'm sure. There's just some scenery from Wutai in there anyway."

Chaos smiled as he closed the sketchbook, and looked up at Yuffie. "Thank you."

Moonlight poured in from the attic window, casting a bright light over the demon sitting below it. Chaos sighed, and looked over at the sketchbook sitting on the table next to the rose. He knew that there was more than scenery in that sketchbook, but he was almost afraid to know what was in there.

"Well… curiosity killed the cat, not a demon." He muttered to himself, standing up and picking the sketchbook up. He sat beneath the window again, and opened it to the first page.

True to her word, it was scenery, and so were the next few pieces. Chaos had only seen Wutai once or twice, and he was happy to know it still had its charm thirty years later. But there were more drawings, but they weren't of Wutai.

They were of him.

But they didn't have the genuine feel of the one that Yuffie had drawn earlier that day. She had drawn these from either her imagination or memory. But that didn't make them any less breath taking. There were two or three that were okay, but there were two that were amazing.

One was himself sitting on a garden bench, looking off to the side of the page. His hands were folded, and hanging down between his legs. His wings were hidden behind him, but it was easy to tell that they were there.

The second one blew Chaos' mind.

He was kneeling down on his right knee with his right claw clenched and supporting him while his left claw was resting on his left knee. His wings were stretched out, but not completely. It was then that he noticed the flames. They covered every inch of the page, but never did they come near him. Then he noticed his eyes. They looked straight at him, and they burned just as bright and dangerous as the flames. Chaos now knew what it was like to be scared at your reflection.

Surprisingly, he found himself smiling. This would surely be him mad. Thank goodness Yuffie didn't draw this from experience.

He closed the sketchbook with a sigh. He looked out the window at the melted snow with a smile. Spring was coming, his favorite time of the year. Now that Yuffie was here, each day seemed to have a purpose again, and Chaos loved it.

But… he was beginning to think that he loved the actual woman... and what she saw in a demon of a man like him.

* * *

A/N: I **finally** updated! Yay! Vacation was a blast, I wish I could have stayed there longer... well, not really because I wanted some homecooked food. Lord I missed that... ((lol)) Anyway!

**Chaos'babe  
sarahasfury  
Tishanna  
Girl-who-sings-the-blues  
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Thank you all for reviewing! Mwah!

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_


	9. Midnight Happenings

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 9**

_Midnight Happenings

* * *

_

Two and a Half Weeks Later – Three Petals Remain

A person is sometimes willing to look over little details to be happy. But the fact that Chaos was once a human was too big of a detail for Yuffie to brush aside. So it was a cold hard fact now: he had been a human. She figured that it must have been thirty years ago, since he had said he'd been living at the mansion since the scientist left.

The scientist. Yuffie knew that it was Hojo, it just had to be. The cruel man took a young man and transformed him into Chaos. Then she remembered the short story Demon Gunslinger. With a shocking realization, she knew then that story was Chaos.

She'd found it. She'd found the demon that was once a man thirty years ago. Yuffie thought it had been just something someone made up to get people interested… but it wasn't. It was real, and Yuffie had it.

She sat down on her bed that night and thought hard. So, this "demon slinger" was Chaos, no doubt about it. So, the legend applied to him, the rose she found a month ago confirmed it. So… he needed to learn how to love and have the woman's love in return to be free again. Yuffie smiled to herself; she thought that she could free him. But there were two issues: one, did she really love him, and two, did he love her?

The easiest was to answer was the first one. Yuffie had never been in love, but she imagined what she was feeling was love. No one would believe that she had fallen in love with a demon, but she had. It's not about how they look; it's about how they are on the inside. If you looked past the fangs and wings, Chaos was a quiet soul that would much rather be left alone. But somehow he let Yuffie stay, and she soon found the timid, unsure, and beautiful soul within the demon. She loved him, she really. And the fact that he could fly and scare anyone away was amazing. Maybe it would keep her father of her back…

But then was the question if Chaos loved her back. Yuffie didn't know if he did. She didn't know how many petals were left on the rose, but she almost didn't want to find out. She didn't know how much time was left… she could go check, but she was afraid of being caught. And she definitely knew that she didn't want to fast talk her way out of that one. So, she just had to trust her gut instinct. And that was telling her yes.

* * *

It was a cold night even though winter was leaving. It may not be snowing anymore, but winter definitely didn't want to be forgotten. So, Chaos raided his kitchen and found some still fresh packets of hot cocoa and prepared one for Yuffie and himself. She was sitting in the newly painted parlor, sitting before the fire. He smiled and settled down next to her and handed her a mug of hot cocoa.

She took it gratefully and took a sip. "Mhmm… I haven't had hot cocoa in years…"

"I had some last year."

"Really?" Yuffie asked, looking up at him in mock surprise, "I though tit would have been thirty years!"

He chuckled, "This mansion really does get cold during winter."

"I thought you didn't feel cold!"

"If I didn't feel cold then I wouldn't put on a fire, or shiver." Chaos corrected, ruffling his wings to keep them warm.

Yuffie stood up and got two blankets from the nearby couch. "Here, think fast!" she cried; quickly throwing the bigger blanket at Chaos. It unfolded slightly, and covered Chaos. Evidently he didn't understand the game very well.

Yuffie giggled as he turned to look at her, lifting dark blue blanket off of his head. "You find that amusing?"

"Yup!" she cackled, coming back over closer to the fire. Chaos set down his hot cocoa and wrapped the blanket around him, loving Yuffie for thinking of something so simple. But even though it was a big blanket, his wings made it difficult for the blanket to cover him entirely. So, part of his chest was still exposed to the chilly air. "Here, let me help you." Yuffie said, wrapping her blanket closely around her before crawling into Chaos' lap. She rested her back against his chest, blocking out the chilly air and adding her own body warmth.

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her blanket-covered form. She set down her hot cocoa next to Chaos' and leaned back with a sigh. The hot cocoa slowly became cold, seeing as their drinkers didn't need them to stay warm any longer.

* * *

A Week Later – Two Petals Remain

Chaos was starting to panic. Things hadn't been progressing, but the petals still fell anyway. He knew that he was going to have to do something soon because there was no way he was going to stay a demon until he died. That just wasn't right for him or Yuffie. He went downstairs, down to the cellars to be exact, and went into his room for some much needed sleep.

Thunder crashed outside, and Yuffie sat up with a cry. She hated storms. Ever since a bolt of lightning hit her home and set it on fire, she had been terrified of them, no matter how far away they were. When the lightning flashed, followed by a crack of thunder, the young ninja jumped from her bed and dashed out of her room.

The thunderstorm was much louder out in the hallway, as she soon found out. She jumped when another thunderclap was heard, but she knew that she had to get over this sometime. Only she didn't want that time to be now. She wished her mother was here and still alive so she could run into her arms and tell her that everything was going to be all right. Yuffie really needed someone to do that for her, and she knew who her only option was.

Chaos.

Now it was just a matter of wandering through this old mansion and finding him. Great. Another thunderclap was heard, and she jumped, running down the stairs. Why she went downstairs was unknown, seeing as Chaos was probably in his secret room. But the lower she went the less she heard the storm. So, that's the way she went; down. But the mansion got darker and creepier the farther she went. Wandering the unused halls, Yuffie found herself in front of a familiar door. She opened it slowly and peered inside.

"Hello?" she called out hesitantly.

The storm answered her. The lightning illuminated the room, revealing that it was the scientist's workroom. The examination table and all of the creepy equipment was revealed, followed by a boom of thunder. Another flash of lightning followed almost immediately, giving the creepy mad scientist feel that Yuffie had seen movies. She hated them because they creeped her out beyond all reason. But she wasn't creeped out… she was terrified. And there's only one thing to do when you're terrified.

Scream.

Yuffie let out a big one, and ran down the hall, but in the opposite way she came. She didn't stop though, and continued her decent intro the dark and unknown part of the mansion.

Chaos' slumber had been interrupted by a blood-curling scream. He immediately knew that it was Yuffie's and was out of bed in a flash. Even though this part of the house was underground and pitch-black, Chaos could see just fine. But he didn't see the speedy ninja flying down the hall.

WHAM!

Straight into the sleepy Chaos. He was about to tear at whatever had attacked him, but stopped when he heard crying and another terrified scream.

Yuffie.

She scrambled to her feet, still screaming, and was about to run back up the hall but Chaos caught her around the waist. He was about to ask what was wrong, but found that her little fists were pounding against his chest, and boy did they hurt.

He grabbed her by the arms and shook her a bit, jolting her from her panic. "Yuffie! Calm down, it's me!" he cried.

Yuffie stopped her pounding and looked up, and was greeted by Chaos' startled and worried gaze. It was then she broke. She flung her arms around him and sobbed into his chest. He was extremely surprised at her actions, but he knew that he wasn't going to get an explanation out of her anytime soon. So, he scooped her up bridal style and carried her back to his room.

Setting her down on the bed, he lit a lamp and turned to look back at her. She was sniffling, and looking up at him. He smiled sadly and sat down next to her. "What happened Yuffie?" he asked her gently, brushing some hair out of her face.

She sniffed again and looked down at the sheets. "I hate storms."

It wasn't a real answer, but Chaos knew that Yuffie was tired beyond all reason, and something must have really scared her for her to be acting like this. "Do you want to go back up to your room?"

"NO! Chaos, don't make me! The storm's so loud up there!" she cried, clutching his sheets. He sighed; one thing was for sure. She was deathly afraid of storms. He thought was a little ridiculous, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he found it as an excuse to crawl in bed next to her and hold her close. She immediately calmed down, and was asleep within minutes.

Chaos smiled happily, running a claw through her hair. He was going to tell her soon, he swore that to himself. He needed to before he lost the chance. Little did he know it was all ready to late.

* * *

"So that's the mansion?" one man asked, and the leader nodded.

"That's right. We're storming that place tomorrow night and taking Lady Yuffie back."

"But what if she's not there?" someone asked, a woman this time.

The man that was obviously the leader rolled his eyes, "Why wouldn't she be? Everyone said that no one has left the city for a while, and definitely not fitting Lady Yuffie's description. A few people said that they saw her walk down this road, and this road either leads to the mansion, or the mountains. But the guards there say that no one can go through the mountains until spring."

"So she has to be at that house." The other man finished.

"Exactly." The leader said with a grin. "Now we just have to sit, and wait."

* * *

A/N: Quick update I know, but I'm eager to get this done, mainly because I'm getting really into this. ((lol)) I blame you all. Just kididng:) Now, this was a happy and mindless fluff chapter before the REALLY big bombshell chapter. I'm not going to say anymore than that. But I will say this...

_After next chapter, many of you will hate me._

**Tishanna  
Chaotic Angel7  
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Thank you all for reviewing, and don't leave me!

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_


	10. Never Forget

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 10**

_Never Forget

* * *

_

A Week Later – One Petal Remains

Chaos knew that it was now or never. While Yuffie was painting in the studio, he snuck in and left a dress on her bed, ready for her to wear that night. He slinked out of her room and went up to the attic with a sly grin on his face. The poor ninja wasn't going to know what hit her tonight.

Yuffie sighed and washed out her paintbrushes. The painting was coming along great, and she really wanted to show Chaos, but she didn't want to explain where the inspiration came from.

It was a man standing in darkness, and the only bright color in the painting was his blood red cloak. He held a long gun, and was resting it against his right shoulder, his finger on the trigger. Long ebony hair fell into his eyes, hiding his right eye completely, but a red bandana held most of his hair back. Yuffie was proud of herself, she really was. This entirely came from her imagination… or rather her dreams. But it didn't matter.

As soon as she washed out her paintbrushes, Yuffie waited the canvas to dry long enough before she put the canvass back over it. She didn't like people seeing the work in progress. She had a gut feeling that tonight was going to be special, and she wasn't very far off either.

Leaving the studio, she went into her room to freshen up, only to find the most beautiful dress lying on her bed. With a squeal, she dashed over and plucked it off of the bed and admired it.

"Oh Leviathan… please let it fit…" she whispered, setting it back down. Stripping down to nothing, she put in on and with relief noticed that it must have been specially made or something. She didn't know how it had gotten there, but it must have been Chaos. Now where he got it was a mystery, but Yuffie didn't really care. She dashed into the bathroom and put on makeup quickly, and avoided getting it on her new ball gown. She put her hair up in a bun with a few strands hanging down, framing her face delicately. With a grin, she studied herself in the mirror, and squealed.

Tonight was certainly full of surprises.

She dashed out of her bathroom, and put on some shoes in her closet. She was about to leave, only to find a note on her bed. Picking it up, she unfolded it and read what was written in it.

_Tonight is a night that you will always remember. I hope that you will never forget it._

_-C_

She smiled as she read, and let the note fall to the floor as she left the room in a rustle of skirts.

When she stepped out of the room, she noticed a pool of rose petals at her feet. Looking where they led, she noticed that there was a trail of them going down the stairs. She followed them down the stairs, into the hallway, and to a part of the house that she had never been in before. When they finally stopped, she found herself in front of a set of very ornate doors. She swallowed nervously and opened them, but only they opened by themselves.

Yuffie looked into the darkness and was slowly becoming frightened, was this some kind of joke to scare her? If it was… it was seriously working. But, to her amazement, the lamps along the wall slowly lit up, revealing a huge ballroom. And standing in the middle… was Chaos.

He wore a long, red cloak that matched his eyes, the collar around his face unbuckled so his entire face was visible. He smiled as she entered the ballroom in the dress that he had found.

It was baby blue with the occasional sequin on the corset like bodice. The skirt was white with a pale blue overlay that shimmered when she walked. Her hair was up in a bun, and the lamplight gave it a healthy glow.

"Well? I assume you like it because you left it in my room." Yuffie said, giving him a twirl.

He smiled, "I do like it, but I must say it looks a lot better than I envisioned it."

"Aw, you give me too much credit." She waved it off, blushing from his compliment.

"I'll give you as much credit as you deserve." He told her sincerely, and took her gently by the hand. As he led her to the center of the dance floor, music began to play.

Yuffie laughed, her eyes dancing. "Oh you planned this really good."

He smiled down at her and gave her a wink, "No, this was just spur of the moment."

"The day you do something like that is the day I'm going to use big words." Yuffie muttered as Chaos laughed.

_You know I can't smile without you  
__I can't smile without you  
__I can't laugh and I can't sing  
__I'm finding it hard to do anything  
__You see I feel sad when you're sad  
__I feel glad when you're glad  
__If you only knew what I'm going through  
__I just can't smile without you_

The couple had been waltzing for the chorus, but they soon stopped and began to slow dance. Chaos looked gently into her stormy gray eyes while she looked back into his.

_You came along just like a song  
__And brightened my day  
__Who would have believed that you were part of a dream  
__Now it all seems light years away_

Chaos' thoughts drifted to the past few months in Yuffie's company, and realized just how much life and laughter she had brought back to this mansion. It was finally looking like it did thirty years ago in all of its glory. Without her, he would still be the dark and gloomy demon that he looks like. But since she came, Chaos realized what it was like to truly live again.

_And now you know I can't smile without you  
__I can't smile without you  
__Ican't laugh and I can't sing  
__I'm finding it hard to do anything  
__You see I feel sad when you're sad  
__I feel glad when you're glad  
__If you only knew what I'm going through  
__I just can't smile_

_Now some people say happiness takes so very long to find  
__Well, I'm finding it hard leaving your love behind me_

Chaos truly couldn't imagine what his life would be like if Yuffie hadn't come. He actually found himself not wanting to think those dark thoughts. 'Yuffie's rubbing off on me.' He thought with a smile, realizing that he didn't mind very much.

Yuffie broke off their gaze, and rested her head on Chaos' broad chest, her cheek resting against the cool red material of his cloak. She realized that it was the exact same cloak she painted, but she didn't dwell long on it. The steady lull of his heart was sending her to cloud nine.

_And you see I can't smile without you  
__I can't smile without you  
__I can't laugh and I can't sing  
__I'm finding it hard to do anything  
__You see I feel glad when you're glad  
__I feel sad when you're sad_

Chaos always noticed that his mood somewhat reflected Yuffie's, and that just made him smile. Who ever knew that a demon like him could be melted by just a simple smile? Or that a pure laugh could make his day just a little brighter? Definitely not him, that was for sure. Chaos knew now that Yuffie made him smile. She was definitely the laughter out of the both of them. If tonight went out as planned, hopefully she would always be the laughter.

_If you only knew what I'm going through  
__I just can't smile without you_

As the music faded, Chaos and Yuffie stopped dancing. She smiled hesitantly, and stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. He smiled when he felt the kiss, and he hugged her tightly. He was about to go into the speech he had been rehearsing all day when a crash was heard.

"Come on, this way!" a man shouted.

Chaos' senses knew that who ever these people were, they weren't here for pleasure. They meant business. And he didn't even want to think about what that was. He scooped Yuffie up and took flight, flying straight for a closed window.

"Yuffie, duck!" he cried, spinning just before he hit the window so she wouldn't cut, allowing the glass to cut his back. He roared when shards of the sharp glass cut his wing, but he kept going. He strained to fly up to the attic, and finally made it.

He crashed through another window, and set Yuffie down on the floor.

"Chaos… those are Godo's men…" she whispered, watching him run to the door and lock it.

"I know." He said softly. He came back over to her and hugged her as close as he could, inhaling the scent of her hair, and memorizing the way she fit perfectly into his arms. Just as fast as he grabbed her, he put her in an armoire. Before he closed the door, he met her teary gray eyes.

"Yuffie, you must promise me that no matter what happens that you will not come out of this armoire until these men are dead or leave. Do you understand me?"

"Chaos…"

"Do you understand me?" he said harshly, his voice cracking slightly.

A lone tear slid down her face and she nodded. But before he could close the door, she leaned in quickly. Avoiding his fangs, she placed a quick and light kiss on lips. He looked like he would rather die than shut that door, but he did anyway.

Darkness enveloped her. She heard the door hit the floor, and men troop into the attic.

"Where is the Lady Yuffie?"

Chaos snorted, "You really think I'm going to tell you that?"

A woman laughed, "Do not hide her from us you demon. There is no way we will allow her to stay here with the likes of you."

"We will bring her home with us whether you like it or not." Another man sneered.

Chaos growled. "If you will take her, you will have to pry her from my cold, dead HANDS!"

The woman screamed, and the men drew their swords. Fighting ensued, but Yuffie had no idea who was winning. She leaned her head back and prayed to anyone who would listen, the Planet, Leviathan… anyone… that Chaos would prevail.

After a few minutes, a body fell to the floor with a sickening thud. Swords were sheathed, and Yuffie's heart leapt to her throat. Who fell?

"Come on. The Lady Yuffie isn't here." The lead assassin said, and the rest left the room. Yuffie's heart rate was going out of control.

"No… no not Chaos…" she whispered. She opened the armoire door and was instantly at Chaos' side.

She turned him over, careful to avoid crushing his wings. She didn't want to cause him any more pain than he was already feeling. Yuffie rested the demon's head in her lap, her elegant dress pooled out behind her. "Chaos… Chaos answer me…" she whispered through her tears.

In response, the demon slowly opened his blood red eyes. "Yuffie…" he chocked out before he coughed.

"Chaos! Oh thank goodness, you're alive!" she cried, a smile appearing on her face through her tears. When he didn't answer, her smile vanished. "Chaos?"

"Yuffie… you know the first picture you painted here? I saw it."

"You… you did?" she asked, wondering where this was going.

"That man… next to my face… that's me. Well, what I would look as a human after being a demon. Before Hojo did this to me… I had dark green eyes, and my hair was shorter."

"You mean you've never seen yourself as a human in thirty years?" she asked in a soft voice, tearing the hem of her dress and held it to a bleeding wound.

"Don't do that." Chaos said, trying to push her hand away. "It's pointless."

"Don't tell me something is pointless!" she cried, her tears beginning to fall. Chaos didn't protest about it after that, but he knew that it wouldn't do any good.

"No… I've never seen myself as a human. I-"

"You'll see yourself as a human! You have to learn how to love, I've read the story!" Yuffie said, putting a hand on his cheek. "You've learned to love… haven't you?"

"It doesn't matter. She has to say that they love me back. Otherwise this curse would have been broken long ago."

Yuffie's eyes widened. He loved her? A demon loved her? She wasn't worthy of _anyone's_ love. But he did! He would live because he loved her! But he needed her love in return… but she had to say it, she knew she did.

"Please… don't leave me Chaos… I love you."

The smile that Chaos gave was the most genuine as smiles could get. It was filled with happiness, peace, and love. "Yuffie… I'm so sorry." He whispered. "I'm so sorry that I'm leaving you like this."

"No… you're not leaving me… you'd never leave."

"I know… but…"

"Chaos, you are NOT dying!" Yuffie sobbed.

"Yuffie… I'm old enough to be your grandfather. I was 27 when Hojo did this to me. I'm 57 now, a little older than your father. I… I can't."

"But that doesn't mean you have to die Chaos!"

"If I could change it… I would." He whispered, his voice cracking. "But I can't. I'm so… so sorry Yuffie…"

"You can't tell me that you love me and then die like that… that's not how it works." Yuffie said, desperate for him to hold on.

"Nothing ever worked like it should have in my entire lifetime. I had a bad life in every possible way. I lost my family at a young age, and I joined the Turks. I did horrible things. I've done worse than threaten people. I wasn't the bystander at a shooting; I was the man behind the gun. Yuffie… you wouldn't want a man like me."

"But I do! I don't care! That was your first life! Think of this as a new one!"

Chaos let out a hoarse laugh. "Yuffie… I can't. I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

Yuffie began to sob, but she sobbed even harder when she saw a tear leak from Chaos' eye. It seemed that when she found something she wanted, it was always taken from her. She hoped that this time would be different… but it wasn't. Her mother's death was happening all over again, but this was much worse. More real… and more painful.

"Chaos… I love you…" she whispered, opening her eyes to meet his red eyes.

He blinked, his sight becoming cloudy. "I love you too Yuffie… never forget that."

As Yuffie's sobs grew louder, Chaos' eyes closed for the last time.

The demon known as Chaos would never see the light of day… again.

* * *

A/N: Please... don't leave and hate me because of this. Next chapter is coming tomorrow...

**Chaos'babe  
Tishannia  
for always x  
The Red Hawk  
saharasfury**

Thank you all for reviewing... please stay with me...

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_

P.S. Song is Can'tSmileWithoutYouby Barry Manilow. The song that I listened to was My Immortal by Evanescense... prolly why it turned out the way it did.


	11. Valentine Gunslinger

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 11**

_Valentine Gunslinger

* * *

_

Everyone can refuse to admit something happened, but they eventually come around. But Yuffie never would, she knew that. She just held Chaos' head in her lap, closed her eyes, and sobbed as the world she knew came crashing down around her.

Little did she know that the demon Chaos was leaving this world, but the man he had once been was returning. The rose on the table behind her began to glow, and all of the fallen petals returned to the bud. With a flash, the red rose became a pure and vibrant white. And with that… the curse was broken.

Chaos' body began to shine. Yuffie saw this and freaked out, backing away from his bloody body. He began to shine brighter, and she watched in amazement as he began to change.

His black skin slowly became pale, and his horns and fangs vanished. Hair grew out to his shoulders, a dark ebony color. His claws shrunk back into normal hands. To her surprise, his left arm became a golden claw. His wings disappeared silently along with his tail. The red cloak that he had been wearing that had been discarded during the fight suddenly reappeared around his shoulders, a bright contrast against his solid black clothes and metal tipped boots. The shinning glow around his body dimmed, and the attic was dark once again.

Yuffie took a hesitant step toward the man when he suddenly rolled over to his right, away from her. He got to his hands and knees, and then slowly stood up. He saw his reflection in the mirror, and looked like he wanted to cry. Then he saw Yuffie's reflection next to his. The man spun around, cloak and hair fanning out behind him.

"Yuffie?" he asked, his voice still deep but without the animal growl. It almost made her knees give out underneath her. She didn't speak. Then again, it wasn't like she could anyway. Instead she just reached out a hand to him, and he ran across the attic and swept her into his arms. She flung herself at him and he spun her around, holding her close.

"Oh… Yuffife… thank the Planet…" he gasped, setting her down, only to be greeted by a slap.

"Don't you EVER do that to me again!" she cried, crying again.

He gasped from the pain, "I deserved that… but that really hurt Yuffie."

She let out a choked laugh and flung her arms around him. "I'm so sorry… I was just so scared…" she whispered into his chest. He wrapped his arms securely around her again, noticing that he couldn't smell her hair. He realized that he was taller, and busted out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"N-nothing… ahaha!"

"Oh like I'm going to believe that." Yuffie said, crossing her arms over her chest.

He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead, "I just noticed that I was taller than I thought I was."

"And how is that funny?" she asked him. He answered by pulling her closer, forcing her to tilt her head a ways back to see his face. "Oh dear you did get taller." She giggled, and then erupted into laughter. He found himself laughing along with her, but he silenced her when he scooped her up bridal style.

"My dear, it's time to go to bed. We've both had a night."

"I agree with that. And you were right. You said that I would never forget tonight."

He chuckled and kissed her temple. "That I did." He told her, his cloak billowing out behind him as he carried her down the stairs.

When he reached her room, he set her back on her feet and let her change into something to sleep in. He took off his cloak and let it fall across the back of a chair. Just then, Yuffie came in wearing a light purple nightgown with her hair down in a low ponytail. He smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Do you want to get something else on?" she asked, crawling into bed.

He laughed, "I would, but I don't think I have anything else that isn't horribly out of style."

Yuffie smiled. "Good point. So… are you going to sleep in your room?"

"Are you kidding?" he replied, taking his boots off and undoing his bandana. "I'm not leaving you at all until we leave this place."

"We're leaving?"

"After that, yes. You're father knows where you are. We'll talk about what we're doing in the morning."

Yuffie giggled, "You're still the person I know."

"So I didn't change? That's a relief."

She smiled brightly, but it disappeared. "Wait…" she said, sitting up.

He came to sit on the edge of her bed, "What is it Yuffie?"

"I don't know your name."

He blinked a few times before he smiled. "Vincent."

Yuffie tilted her head to the side. "Vincent." She repeated, tasting the new name. "Oh I like that much more than Chaos."

"You have no idea how much I agree with that." He said, standing up and walking around to the other side to the bed and crawling in next to her. Yuffie immediately rolled over and snuggled into Vincent's chest. He sighed and hugged her close. Nothing on this planet was going to take her away from him again.

* * *

The next morning, Yuffie found herself comfortably warm and held protectively. She wrapped her arms around the sleeping man next to her and squeezed. "Vincent…"

He groaned and buried his head in her hair that was fanned out on the pillow. "What?" he grumbled after a while.

"Time to get up…"

He immediately sat up and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his right hand. He swung his legs out of bed and stood up, which made Yuffie pout. "Well, you didn't have to take that literally."

"You might want to get packed. We're leaving."

"Now?" Yuffie asked in disbelief.

He turned around to look at her, "After what happened last night, this is the last place I want to be."

"But how can you think about traveling when you first get up?"

"Easy. I was a Turk." He said, putting on his boots and doing up his bandana.

She groaned and rolled out of bed, getting up and grabbing some traveling clothes from her dresser and heading into the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later ready to go. She grabbed her bag from the closet and packed what she needed. Vincent left the room and was back within minutes. He held out her sketchbook, and she took it with some confusion.

"They're beautiful, but you now have someone else to draw. I shouldn't deprive you of you're only sketchbook."

She smiled at his generosity and put it into her bag. Reaching inside the closet, she brought out her weapon.

Vincent's eyes widened at the sight of it. "Yuffie… what is that?"

"It's my shuriken, what else?" she said, twirling it a few times.

Vincent was astounded that she could actually use something like that. "Well, if you would follow me I have a few things to pick up."

She nodded and followed the dark figure down to the darkest mansion. He opened the door to Hojo's lab, and Yuffie shuddered. "Vinnie… how can you stand this place?"

"Who said I did?" he replied, avoiding looking at the examination lab. He walked to the lab and found locked cabinet. "I think it was here," he muttered to himself, trying the handle, only to discover a padlock. He frowned and looked around for something to break the lock. Then he found himself looking down at his golden claw. No doubt Hojo didn't want him to forget this little experience. That was just fine with Vincent. He had another weapon. He grabbed the padlock with his claw, and pulled. The thing might as well have been made out of string.

Yuffie looked in astonishment at the broken padlock next to Vincent's foot. "Oh that's just not right…"

"Tell me about it." He said, looking at the padlock himself. Clearing his mind, he opened the cabinet. He smiled; this was exactly where Hojo put them. Yuffie watched in stunned silence as her love looked at a large case of… guns. She scampered forward and looked at the bottom at the biggest one.

"Death… Penalty…" she read on the handle.

Vincent's head snapped down to look at her. "What did you say?"

She pointed to the gun on the bottom shelf. "I was just reading the handle on that one."

He bent down to look at it, and his eyes widened. He picked it up gently and found a card tied to the nozzle. He undid it and read the card aloud.

"This is for you Vincent. Good job on finding your love. –L" He smiled wryly and let the card fall to the ground. He hid the gun beneath his cloak and looked at the wide variety of smaller guns.

"Vincent… who's "L"?" Yuffie asked, watching him carefully make his selections.

"Someone who I thought I loved, that's all." He replied, picking up a gun with the words _Peacemaker_ on the side.

Yuffie nodded, knowing she wasn't going to get anything else about it out of him for a long time. She watched him pick up another gun, the _Outsider_. "So, where these all yours or are they just here?"

"Some of these were mine. I never forget a gun, but it's been thirty years…" he told her, picking up the _Quicksilver_, and placing it in a side holster with the rest of his guns. "Come, we need to get out of here."

"What about gil?" she asked, following him out of the room quickly.

"That's the next stop." He replied, going into the parlor, and opening a wall.

"How come I never knew about this stuff?" she asked as he unlocked a hidden safe.

"Because it was supposed to stay hidden." He answered, taking the money inside.

"Whose money is that exactly Vincent?"

He stood up and pocketed the money, closed the safe and the wall before leaving the parlor. "Mine."

Yuffie followed behind Vincent through the city, avoiding the glances of the civilians. But what she didn't know was that they were looking at Vincent and not her. After all, none of them had ever seen a tall, pale man wearing a tattered, blood red cape before. Children looked at him from a distance, and the adults avoided looking at him in general. But one thing that was whispered that caught the dark man's ear:

"Vincent Valentine is back."

He stopped walking and looked at the older man who had said his name. He studied him for a while before giving him a curt nod. The man smiled, "I knew that Hojo couldn't get his way with you."

"Who said he did?" Vincent replied. "Is that you? Roger?"

The man, identified as Roger smiled. "So you haven't forgotten me!"

"Who could forget the man that's saved their life?"

Roger nodded and gestured them to follow him. "Come, it would be wonderful to talk to you after all these years."

"Actually, I was on my way out of town."

"Ah… in that case, good luck in your travels, where ever you may be going." Roger said, going back about his business. Vincent resumed his walking, and Yuffie caught up with him.

"Um… who was that Vinnie?"

"That was Roger. He was a Turk in my division."

"Ah, you mean the same squad?"

"What are you talking about?"

Yuffie giggled, "Times changed, and I'm assuming so did the Turks. They're more of an elite police force now."

"A… police force? What have the Turks been reduced to?"

"Reduced to? What did they used to be?"

"The Turks used to be independent from Shinra, but we did what they wanted us to. Slowly, the government was gaining control, and not many people liked that. The Turks were excellent marksmen, the perfect assassin. The people didn't want to see us working for them. Eventually, Shinra gained control. And that's exactly what we became, assassins. I was the best they had."

Yuffie stopped walking, starring at Vincent's red back. He stopped after a few steps and looked back at her with a sad look in his eyes. "My life wasn't beautiful Yuffie. I hated what I did, but I didn't know what else I could do. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me Vincent." She said, walking up to join him. "Apologize to the ones that you hurt." They walked in silence for a few minutes until they left the city. "So… where are we headed?" Yuffie asked.

"Do you wish to head back to Wutai?"

She shuddered, "Oh please no. I want to get as far away as possible."

"Well… we might want to head to Rocket Town then. There's always a pilot that's willing to fly somewhere for a fair pay. We'll buy their silence as well."

"So… Rocket Town it is! Now… where is that?"

"North." Vincent replied, setting off. "Hurry, I wish to be there before the end of the week."

* * *

Never trust that you're safe traveling on a mountain path. Yuffie learned that very quickly. When two Crown Lances shot up, it was time to fight. But Vincent surprised her. He whipped out the Peacemaker and soon made mincemeat of the two monsters. They fell to the ground and didn't move. He walked right past them, while Yuffie followed in amazement.

"Do you think that you can teach me to shoot like that?"

"You wish to learn how to shoot?"

"Yeah, why not?" When Vincent didn't reply, Yuffie let it drop. She'd but him about it later. Traveling a ways, they found a sleeping griffin on the path.

Vincent held out a hand for Yuffie to stop, and starred at the griffin. "What is that doing here? They're not native here…"

"Well, let's worry about why it's here after we get rid of it?"

"Are you mad? Attacking a griffin?"

"Yup!" she cried, swinging her shuriken at the beast. It roared and leapt at its attacker, but Yuffie danced away, catching her shuriken. She threw it a few more times, each striking the beast perfectly. Vincent drew his Peacemaker again and shot the final blow, the griffin falling to the ground.

"Hey! I was handling it fine by myself!" Yuffie said, hands on her hips. Vincent just shook his head and continued walking up the path. He was going to have to have a talk with the young ninja about some common sense…

A few days later, the odd couple reached Rocket Town. They asked around and were soon pointed in the direction of a pilot who would fly people anywhere they wished, only if they could put up with some strong language.

Vincent knocked on the pilot's door and looked down at a man with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

"Lemme guess. You two idiots want a f&$ing ride right?"

Yuffie winced at the language, and Vincent almost cringed. "Yes. Wherever you're going, we'll go."

"As long as it's away from here." Yuffie added.

The pilot smiled. "Well I'll be! Two people on the run! Some people are gonna get the wrong idea ya' know."

"You mean people like you?" Vincent asked.

The pilot shook his head. "Nah. You should see the group I usually haul around. You two will be no problem. I'll just fly you on my airship. Now… you two have no objections to where you go?"

"Midgar would be preferable." Vincent said.

"Eh, well, do you mind making one f&$ing side trip? I'm stopping in Costa del Sol for a week."

"That's fine!" Yuffie said brightly. Vincent sighed and closed his red eyes. Well, at least it was away from here.

"All right, follow me! My name's Cid, and you'll have to put up with me for the next week! Boy, I feel f$&ing sorry for you two…"

* * *

A/N: Oh I really don't like how this turned out. I like the first part, but not when they start traveling. Well... now everything's all peachy...

**KatoriTsubasa  
Chaos'babe  
Tishannia  
sarahasfury  
Raven2120  
Superactiveuberfreak  
Lord Makura  
The Red Hawk  
line-chan**

I hope that this made up for last chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_


	12. Meeting The Gang

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 12  
**_  
Meeting The Gang

* * *

_

Yuffie was sure of one thing now: she **hated** airships. A lot. When they landed in Costa del Sol, she practically skipped off the ship and sat down on the ground with happiness.

Vincent was following behind her and squatted down next to her. "May I ask why you run off the ship and sit down?"

"I HATE airships." She said flatly and he couldn't help but chuckle.

Cid followed them out and starred at him. "If there's one thing I've learned about you Vince, it's that you don't smile. So what in the $#!ing world are you laughing at?"

"Nothing Cid." He replied, hiding a smile behind his collar. He held out a hand to Yuffie and she took it. He pulled her up and didn't let go of her hand for a while until he felt Cid starring. Yuffie got it to and bounced ahead of the two men.

"So, who exactly are we going to meet?" Vincent asked as he watched her walk ahead.

"Eh, just old friends really. I'll take you guys onto Midgar in a week, just like I promised."

"And who are these friends of yours?"

"Nothing gets past you huh?" Cid asked, looking up at the dark gunman. When he didn't answer, the pilot sighed. "They're really just friends. I do a lot of business with Tifa Lockheart, the woman that owns the bar. I hung out there a lot because, well, it's a bar. We became close friends, and now it's just more than a business trip."

"So you like her." Vincent stated.

Cid looked like he had just been slapped. "Oh hell no! No no, I've got a woman back at home. No, she's much to interested starring at Cloud, who is too busy starring at Aerith, who's too busy tending her flower shop. They're just a bunch of hopeless cases really."

Vincent smiled at the paradox they were entering. He was about to say something but Cid beat him to it.

"Now, you know where we're going, but I don't know why you two want to go to Midgar. Care to elaborate?"

He shook his head and sighed. "No specific reason."

"Lemme guess, you're running away from her father, right?"

Vincent was never one to show his emotions, but he couldn't help it. His head snapped down to stare at the smirking pilot. "How-"

"Oh it's easy. I can tell you like her a lot. She likes you to, but how she does is beyond me."

The gunman smiled at that. "Oh trust me, you're not alone on that account."

"Eh?" he asked, shaking his head. "Nah, forget I said anything. It's not exactly my $!& business. So… her father doesn't know about you?"

"Her father doesn't even know she met me."

Cid whistled with a cigarette in his mouth. "Ouch, that's gonna come back and bite you in the ass."

"I assume so. Now I'm just curious when it's going to come back around again."

The pilot laughed and started coughing on the cigarette smoke. "Ack! I hate that stuff…"

"Then why do you smoke?" Yuffie asked, bouncing back to the group.

"Can't quit." Cid said gruffly. He pointed ahead to the beach, "Well, we're here. Just make a left at the fork and head to the Final Haven. It's Tifa's bar, and just tell her that you're with me. She'll get you rooms at the hotel free of charge."

"That's not necessary-" Vincent began but Cid waved his head.

"Nonsense! You two are fuckin' guests! You won't be paying for a damn thing! I have a few errands to run, so I'll meet you guys in the bar in about an hour."

"Righto!" Yuffie cried, running in the direction of the bar. Vincent nodded in understanding.

* * *

Tifa was cleaning the bar counter when Cloud walked in. She looked up at him and smiled. "Hey there! Are you on break?" 

"Yes… god I thought Barret wasn't going to let me out!"

The young bar hostess laughed, "Well, I open in about two hours so you can't relax here until then."

"Relax? I can't relax when I have to be back in half an hour."

"Barret usually gives you longer breaks than that, what's up with him today?"

"I dunno. He said that he got a transmit ion from Cid saying that he was bringing in our new stock… oh no! Barret wants me to sort everything!"

Tifa smirked at the blonde. "Oh, you're just miserable because you get to stare at new weapons."

"No, I'm miserable because I have to lift everything!" Cloud retorted with a smile on his face. He loved his job no matter how much he complained about it.

"Well, Cid's coming! That's something to celebrate, don't you think?"

"Yeah, my pocket won't be celebrating." Cloud grumbled.

A woman laughed, "That's why you don't play poker!" Cloud turned around and saw Aerith come through the door, holding her usual basket of flowers.

"Hey Aerith!" he said with a big smile that he always reserved just for her. Tifa frowned slightly and looked at the bar counter. She knew that he liked the flower girl, but that's not what bothered her. It was the fact that she didn't seem to notice when he was making it drop dead obvious. It also didn't help when she had a crush on him as well…

She put on a fake smile and waved to her best friend, "Hey girl! Did you close down the shop all ready?"

"Yeah, Barret told me Cid was coming in today! I really wish that he would stop with all that language, but he really has been trying to quit smoking."

Tifa's dark champagne eyes widened. "Really? Oh I bet Shera's the one behind that."

Cloud smirked, "No doubt about it."

Everyone laughed when another voice interrupted them. "Hello? Is this Tifa's bar?"

The three friends turned around to see a young woman standing in the doorway. "It is," Tifa told her, "but we don't open for another two hours. And aren't you a little young to be drinking?" The woman who had spoke was easily the most curvaceous woman Yuffie had ever seen. She wore a sleeveless black shirt and

"I'm twenty!" she shot back, "And Cid told me to come here with Vincent!"

"Oh, so you're traveling with Cid?" Aerith asked, coming over to embrace the young ninja. "Well, Cid must have been feeling generous when he agreed to take you along. I'm Aerith."

"Well hey Aerith, the name's Yuffie." The young ninja replied, returning the woman's hug. She studied the older woman, only to come up with that she had the most beautiful green eyes and evidently loved the color pink.

"Who did you say you were here with?" Cloud asked, coming over to shake her hand. He wore all black, but it didn't make him look goth or anything. He had a long piece of material hanging down on his left leg like a half skirt, which Yuffie found extremely amusing. His soft blonde hair seemed to defy gravity somewhat, with made her laugh. Mako blue eyes looked down at her, and she immediately liked him. Hey, he wasn't Vincent, but he wasn't exactly ugly either.

"Oh, his name's Vincent." She answered.

Tifa chuckled, "Oh? And is he your boyfriend?" When Yuffie blushed, the older woman smirked, "Oh I'm always right. I'm Tifa, and this is Spike."

"Hey!" he cried. The woman all giggled, and Yuffie eyed his wild hair. "It's Cloud."

"Well, nice to meet you all. Cid said that he would be back here in an hour, he had some errands to run."

"Well that's good!" Tifa said happily, leading Yuffie to a place at the bar. They talked for a while, laughing at something Cloud had said.

"Well, do you have a story to tell? Why did you agree to fly on Cid's airship anyway? It's not exactly a pleasant ride." Aerith said.

Yuffie snorted, "I agree with that." Everyone laughed, and Yuffie smiled. "Well… I do have a story of sorts." The three friends leaned forward, eager to tell her tale. She began telling them of a myth when Vincent silently slipped into the bar. He overheard what story she was telling. He hid in the shadows and listened to the story.

"The demon took her in, and continued to treat her until her fever had left. He made sure that she didn't walk too much on her ankle, and he barely managed to get her to sit still. After a while, the two grew close after a few memorable moments, and the demon began to believe that this could be the woman to break the curse."

"Did she?" Aerith asked with excitement.

Yuffie looked at the three, "Do you guys really want to know?"

"If you think you can tell us that and not finish, then you have something else coming!" Tifa laughed, leaning her elbows against the counter.

"All right, all right!" Yuffie laughed, and Vincent smiled beneath the collar of his cloak. She began the story again, and he listened to their story, and almost laughed at her three new friend's expressions. Obviously Yuffie didn't tell them that this was real. Not that they would have believed her anyway.

"After a few months, the demon was dead sure about one thing: he loved the woman. He was determined to let her know, and planned a romantic evening. They had danced to a wonderful song when assassins stormed the mansion.

"He took her up to the attic and locked her in the wardrobe and fought the men off so they wouldn't take her. He was successful, but he didn't make it. His love broke the lock and ran to his side. She told him that she loved him, and that she had known all about the curse for a month.

"But even though she said the words, it wasn't enough. The demon died."

"That's it?" Cloud asked, starring at her in disbelief, "You've got to be kidding me. Have you ever heard of a story with a happy ending?"

Yuffie glared at him, "If you let me finish!"

Vincent tried his hardest not to reveal his spot. He wanted to jump in at just the right time…

"Right, on with the story. The rose on the table flashed, and the woman realized that the demon she had come to love was glowing! She stepped back out of fear and watched him turn into the man he was before he had been transformed. When he turned around, she found herself facing the most handsome man she had ever seen."

Tifa smiled, "I knew that you were done. You don't seem like the person to end a story depressing like that."

"No, she's not." Vincent said. Yuffie shot up five feet in the air and squeaked, turning around to spy him leaning against the wall. "VINCENT VALENTINE! What was that for!" she cried, starring at him hard.

He just shrugged. "I'm very sorry Yuffie, but I was just listening to your story."

"Oh you weren't listening! You were looking for an opportunity to scare the crap out of me!"

Vincent raised an eyebrow. "Did it work?"

Everyone laughed, and she just blushed. "Get your butt over here Vinnie."

As the gunman sat down next to the ninja, Tifa took one look at him and grinned. "So this is Vincent…" He shifted uneasily under her gaze and nodded. Tifa grinned ever wider. "Oh you've got good taste Yuffie."

"TIFA!" Yuffie cried, going even redder. Vincent had the decency to blush himself.

"What did I miss?" Cid asked, coming into the bar.

Cloud turned and beckoned him over. "Oh, not a lot. Just listening to a story."

"That's it? You guys are $!&ing boring…" the pilot muttered and sat down next to Cloud. "So, Tifa, am I allowed to order anything?"

She looked at the clock on the wall and shook her head. "Not for another hour."

Cid cursed and lit another cigarette. "That &!$ing stinks. So, anything big happening here anytime soon?"

"Well, the annual Costa del Sol Festival is two weeks away."

Cid's face brightened. "Shera loves that day! Do you think I could fly back and pick her up for it?"

"You said that you would take us to Midgar at the end of the week." Vincent reminded him.

Aerith frowned, "Oh, but you have to stay! The festival is the best time of the year! Everyone from all over the Planet comes to celebrate! It's a symbol of the day that Costa del Sol opened. You have to stay, please!"

"We rent out the villa at the end of the street to guests that will pay enough," Cloud said, "but we can give you two rooms for free if you wish to stay."

"Oh please Vinnie! Can we stay! We're not in a big rush to get to Midgar!" Yuffie begged the gunman, trying her best to persuade him.

But Vincent was hard as a rock, and he wasn't about to be swayed. Tifa leaned over the bar and whispered something in the ninja's ear. She nodded and bowed her head. He was about to ask what was wrong when she looked up at him from underneath her lashes, gray eyes pleading.

"Vincent… please?" she asked innocently. The voice and eyes were too much for the poor gunman. He sighed and closed his eyes, turning his head to the side. Vincent would do anything to not receive that look ever again.

But Yuffie wasn't done. She grabbed his arm gently and rested her chin on his shoulder. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and wished that he didn't. She was still looking at him like that, and Vincent knew the battle was over at that moment. "Please?"

Vincent sighed and shook his head sadly. "Fine…" he muttered and Aerith cheered.

Tifa gave Cloud a high five and smiled over at the gunman. "All right! You know Vince, I didn't actually think that it would work with you."

Yuffie nodded, "Yeah, I second that."

Everyone laughed, and even Vincent smiled. Well… two weeks to wait and get to know everyone. He didn't have any real friends as a Turk, and definitely didn't have any growing up. It was time to try some new things, and Vincent knew that it would work out with Yuffie right by his side.

The only problem now was Godo. But he decided to take things one at a time.

* * *

A/N: Yay! Enter the gang:) And Yuffie giving him the deadly puppy eyes... ouchness. ((lmao)) Well, they're staying for the festival and getting to know everyone! Sweet! Cloud is wearingwhat hewore in AdventChildren, just without the shoulder pad andone long sleeve... if you can picture that. Well, I hope you enjoyed this! I'm so not followingthe plan I wrote, I'm winging this right now...

Maybe I shouldn't have told you that. Oopsies.

**Chaos'babe  
The Red Hawk  
line-chan  
saharasfury  
LordMakura  
KatoriTsubasa  
Raven2120  
Tishannia  
K. Valentine  
Chaotic Rei**

Holy... Ijust realized that I'm REALLYclose to 100 reviews! EEP! dances Thank you EVERYONE! The person that gives the 100th review will get something special... :)

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_

((Edited: 28.04.07))


	13. Day At The Bar

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 13**

_Day At The Bar

* * *

_

As Yuffie and Vincent walked down to the villa to reserve their rooms, Yuffie asked him something that had been bothering her.

"Vincent… how come they didn't say anything about your claw?"

"Cloud was the only one that saw it. I kept it under the bar so Tifa wouldn't see it, and I don't think Aerith will notice unless I show her."

"What did Cloud say?"

"He just looked at me and said that he'd been on the receiving end of Hojo as well. His eyes glow thanks to mako."

"Oh." Yuffie said quietly, walking next to him. She was walking on his left side, determining if she should or shouldn't grab his hand… well, claw. Yuffie didn't mind his claw, but she wasn't sure what he would do if she grabbed it. Vincent saw that she was thinking hard about something, and was about to ask her about it when he saw her small hand slip into his golden claw. Yuffie didn't mind that his digits were hard and cold; she just wanted to hold his hand. Vincent smiled beneath his cloak and held her fragile hand gently in his, the two of them walking the rest of the way to the villa together.

* * *

When Vincent arranged their rooms with the desk clerk, Yuffie opened the door to her room. She squealed and was about to jump on the bed when Vincent grabbed her arm gently. "How about taking a shower first?"

She looked up at him and smiled, "What would I do without you?"

He was unbuckling the top of his cloak and smirked. "Die?" he said with a wink.

Yuffie huffed as she dropped her bag and ran into the bathroom. Vincent chuckled and went to his room next door. He opened it to discover it wasn't much different than hers. But with some unease, he saw that their rooms were connected, and that they had to share a bathroom. He scolded himself that it could be worse and set down his bag and began to unpack. If they were staying here for two weeks, he might as well get situated.

After Yuffie took her shower, Vincent took his. She got dressed and knocked on the door to the bathroom. "Vincent? I left my brush in there."

Vincent put on his pants and let her in, drying his hair with a towel. Yuffie tried not to stare at his bare and slightly toned chest and picked her brush off of the counter. She turned around and almost ran into Vincent and she blushed redder than his eyes.

He smiled down at her and gave her a one armed hug, his claw holding a now wet towel. He was still a little wet, and some drops of water from his hair ran down his chest and onto Yuffie's cheek. Vincent let her go and she fled the bathroom, blushing like a mad woman. He watched the door bounce open and chuckled to himself. He knew it was mean, but he just couldn't help it. He finished drying his hair and put on the rest of his clothes.

* * *

The two headed back to Tifa's bar and Yuffie headed inside to talk to Aerith while Vincent spotted Tifa herself putting up decorations on a ladder. "Hello Tifa." He said, coming up the steps.

She looked over and smiled, "Hey Vincent!" she called out, turning back to look at she was doing. She didn't notice anything was wrong, but Vincent did. The ladder was starting to tilt. Tifa didn't notice until too late. Vincent moved like lightning, and grabbed the back of her shirt with his claw, plucking her off of the falling ladder. He leaned over the railing and hoisted her up, and she clung to him as they watched the ladder fall down to the ground. Had Vincent not been there, she would have been crushed under the ladder.

The crash brought everyone outside and Cloud rushed over. "Are you okay Tifa?"

"Yeah, I'm fine thanks to Vincent. He just plucked me off like there was nothing to it."

Aerith looked at the back of Tifa's shirt. "Teff… why are there holes in your shirt?"

"Holes?" she asked, craning her head around to see four holes in the back of her shirt. "I don't know…"

"My apologies." Vincent said softly. Aerith and Tifa looked at him in confusion. He closed his eyes and slowly drew his claw out from underneath his cloak.

Aerith gasped, but Tifa touched it gently. "I'm sorry Vincent…" she said softly. "It may sound mean, but I really like it. After all, thanks to you and your claw, I'm not a pancake."

He opened his eyes, a small smile forming under the collar of his cloak. "Thank you Tifa."

"Well, I think that it's sexy!" Yuffie called from the doorway, and everyone laughed, heading inside. Tifa headed upstairs to find a new shirt while everyone sat down at the bar.

"You really think that it's 'sexy'?" Vincent asked the young ninja.

She looked up him and winked, "You're just drop dead sexy Vince. Get used to it." And with that, she bounced off to sit next to Aerith. Cloud put a stool in between him and Yuffie, giving Vincent the pleasure of sitting next to her. He smiled again, and undid the top of his cloak. Thinking that it didn't really matter, he discarded the cloak all together and laid it over the back of a chair.

Tifa came down the stairs in a baby pink tank top and whistled. "Vincent finally takes it off!" she cried, teasing him. He looked over at her and sighed, sitting down next to Yuffie.

"So, where's Cid?" She asked, sipping the lemonade Tifa just gave her.

"He's picking up Shera and dropping stuff of for Barret and I." Cloud said, sipping a beer.

"Who is Barret?" Vincent asked, accepting a glass of wine from Tifa.

Cloud eyed the Vincent's glass oddly, but respected the older man's decision of a drink. "Barret's my boss… or rather my partner. We own the weapons shop down the street."

"Yeah… well… it may be random, but do you two know how to dance?" Aerith asked, looking at Yuffie and Vincent.

"I know dances from Wutai." Yuffie replied.

Vincent looked at Aerith like she was crazy. "I can waltz, but that's about it. Why do you ask?"

"Aerith, they wouldn't know the dances for the festival, they've never been here!" Tifa said gently with a smile. "So, we're just going to have to show you!" She cried happily, looking at Cloud.

He held his hands up. "Oh wait a minute here, I didn't agree to this!"

"Too bad!" Aerith laughed, jumping up and grabbing Cloud by the hand. Yuffie noticed Tifa looked a little put out, like she had been beaten in the race. She silently pointed it out to Vincent, and he nodded slightly at her. He was watching now. Aerith and Cloud started to show the two newcomers the basic dance that everyone does. Aerith was laughing when Cloud would forget what to do next. He seemed nervous about dancing with her, which sparked Vincent's curiosity. He remembered Cid telling him that Aerith and Tifa were after him. Now it was only a matter of time before he realized it. Vincent decided to try something.

"Cloud, no offense, but watching you mess up isn't going to help me learn this in two weeks."

He blushed slightly, "Well if Aerith wouldn't giggle every time I did."

"I'm sorry Cloud!" she said, trying to muffle her giggles, "It's just so funny! You said you knew this!"

"I do!" Cloud retorted.

Vincent knew that if he ever wanted to see this done properly, he had to find Cloud another dance partner. He knew that Tifa secretly wanted to dance, but she wouldn't fight her best friend for it. "Tifa, could you bear dancing with Cloud for a minute? I obviously should know how to do this, and I think that Cloud's current dance partner is frustrating him."

Aerith put her fists on her hips. "I'm not a difficult dance partner!"

"Then stop giggling!" Cloud shot back with a smile. Tifa blushed nervously and came out from behind the bar. "All right Tifa, let's start over." And with that, they did. He took Tifa's hand gently, and they preformed the dance with little mistakes.

Vincent had to refrain himself from smiling. He knew now that Cloud was comfortable around Tifa, and nervous around Aerith. But whom did that mean he liked as a woman and whom he liked as a sister? Normally, Vincent would say Aerith but that's not the way that he was leaning. He was determined to talk to Cloud about it before the festival. He could only take one woman.

When they finished, everyone clapped. Yuffie smiled and bounced over to give Tifa a hug, "Good job Tifa! I loved it! It looks like so much fun…"

"Yeah, but you know what?" Aerith said, coming to stand next to the young ninja, "I think you and Vincent have danced before…"

"What about it?" she asked, looking up at the flower girl.

"I think that you could show us how you two know how to dance…"

"It's just a waltz." Vincent said, standing up.

"Exactly!" Tifa cried, "Cloud doesn't know how to waltz! Please, he's so deprived…"

"I feel fine!" Cloud exclaimed, glaring at the two women.

Vincent smiled, "Well, I don't dance without music."

"Vinnie! You've got to be kidding me!" Yuffie cried, watching him walk over.

"I'm afraid I'm not," he said. Leaning down, he whispered something in her ear. "Pray to the Planet Tifa doesn't find music."

"AH! Well… it's an oldie but I think you'll like it!" Tifa said, holding a cassette that she put into the stereo.

Yuffie glared up at the dark gunman, "You didn't pray hard enough."

He smiled down at her, "My most sincere apologies."

Tifa pushed the play button and grimaced as the song played, "Oh yeah, it's an oldie. Sorry guys… its not even waltzing music."

Vincent smiled when he heard the tune. "I think we'll live." He said, looking down at Yuffie.

_You know I can't smile without you  
__I can't smile without you  
__I can't laugh and I can't sing  
__I'm finding it hard to do anything_

When Yuffie heard it, she began to laugh. "Oh this is just wrong! How does something like this happen?"

Vincent shrugged, giving her a spin. "Who knows? But, this definitely isn't a waltzing song."

"Freestyle!" Yuffie cried happily as Vincent spun her again.

_You see I feel sad when you're sad  
__I feel glad when you're glad  
__If you only knew what I'm going through  
__I just can't smile without you_

_You came along just like a song  
__And brightened my day  
__Who would have believed that you were part of a dream_  
_Now it all seems light years away_

Tifa smiled and leaned against the bar as she watched the two dance to an oldie song.

Cloud smirked, "Well, it's apparent that they've danced before."

"And what are the odds of picking the same song?" Tifa asked with a small smile, wishing that someone would dance with her like that.

"Something wrong Tifa?" Aerith asked. Tifa quickly shook her head and they continued to watch Yuffie and Vincent dance.

_And now you know I can't smile without you  
__I can't smile without you  
__I can't laugh and I can't sing  
__I'm finding it hard to do anything_

_You see I feel sad when you're sad  
__I feel glad when you're glad  
__If you only knew what I'm going through  
__I just can't smile_

Yuffie looked at the three people watching them and smiled up at Vincent. "You know, I think they know something that we haven't told them."

"What, that we've danced to this one?"

"Well, that, but that's not what I was thinking about. I think that at least Aerith knows… about us. Well, not our story, but that we're… um… how do you say it?"

"Together?" He suggested, dipping her back.

She giggled, "Well, I guess we could say that…"

_Now some people say happiness takes so very long to find  
__Well, I'm finding it hard leaving your love behind me_

"I thought that's what we were." Vincent said, spinning her again.

Yuffie looked up at him and smiled, "I guess. I just didn't know what to call it, that's all."

"You mean you want it to be more?"

Yuffie blushed. "Well… um…"

_And you see I can't smile without you  
__I can't smile without you  
__I can't laugh and I can't sing  
__I'm finding it hard to do anything_

"So… what do you think they know?" Vincent

"Um… not a lot. Why?" Yuffie asked.

But he just shook his head. "Just a question." He said.

_You see I feel glad when you're glad  
__I feel sad when you're sad  
__If you only knew what I'm going through  
__I just can't smile without you_

Vincent smiled as the music ended. They had finished a dance without someone running in to attack them. It was certainly a nice change.

"So… do you think we should answer some questions now?" Vincent asked the young ninja.

She nodded, "Yeah, I can do tha-"

But Vincent had something else in mind. He leaned down slowly and kissed Yuffie gently on the lips, and someone whooped from the bar.

Aerith was now giggling, Tifa was smiling like an idiot, and Cloud looked thunderstruck. "Oh I'm seeing things."

Yuffie smirked. "What do you think you just saw?"

"Vincent kissing you!" he exclaimed, still not believing it.

Tifa smirked, "Well, do you think you need to see them do it again?"

Cloud sat up straighter, a grin spreading over his face. "Oh yeah, I need to make sure that I wasn't seeing things." Aerith put her two cents in by giggling again.

Vincent just starred at them in amusement. "You're serious?"

"Yes, we're dead serious!" Tifa laughed.

Yuffie put her arms around the gunman's neck and kissed his cheek. He turned his head and gave her a real kiss, and dipping her back for a dramatic effect. When he set her upright, all of them laughed, except the gunman who was just smiling down at the young woman in his arms.

"Vincent, do you ever laugh?" Aerith asked, all serious.

He blinked, "I do, it just takes a little more."

Yuffie smiled and bounced back over to her seat. "But he's got the most beautiful laugh! I'll make sure you guys will hear it before we leave!"

"All right!" Tifa said, grabbing her purse. "I realized that I open an hour later on weekends, so we have time to go shopping!"

"Shopping?" Yuffie said, perking up. "For what?"

"You!" Aerith said happily. "We all need outfits for the festival… and I bet we can find you a few outfits to wear everyday…"

"Whoa, I really don't need any fashion help… do I?" she asked, looking at Vincent.

He looked slightly surprised when he realized she was expecting him to answer. "I know there are many things that I'm supposed to say right now… but it really depends on which one you want to hear."

"Ouch." Cloud said.

"I want the honest truth!" Yuffie said, glaring at Vincent.

The tall man sighed. "I like what you have on, I really do. But it wouldn't hurt to go along either."

"So you're saying I need fashion help?"

"I'm not saying that." Vincent said, turning on the barstool to face her. "I'm saying that it wouldn't hurt. I know you can pull of sleeveless sweaters and shorts very well, but I've seen you pull off things much more beautiful."

"Oh yeah, like what?" She shot back.

"That blue dress before we left. You looked amazing."

The ninja blushed, "You picked that out!"

"Still looked good. That was pure luck and chance Yuffie. I didn't even know if it would fit."

Tifa smiled, "Well, Vincent seems to know what's good, so why don't we drag him along?"

Vincent looked at the young woman, alarmed. "Oh no, I don't really want to be dragged around shopping."

"Oh, I don't either." Cloud said. "But I don't want be alone here at the bar."

"You're not going to be alone Cloud because I'm not going." Vincent explained.

Cloud chuckled, getting up. "Uh, I don't think you understand. When Tifa says you're coming… you're coming."

* * *

A/N: Do you want me to be honest? There was absolutely NO point to this chapter. -- Well... yeah, not really. I had to use the song again b/c... well, honestly, I don't know. It was just stuck in my head and wouldn't leave until I used it again. Tifa's dragging the guys shopping, oh dear. How's Vincent gonna handle that one.

Vincent: ((eye twitch)) Please shoot me.  
Angel: No frankly, I don't want to! You know... Yuffie's trying stuff on...  
Vincent: ((pauses)) Type up the next chapter.  
Angel: ((smirks)) Thought so!

**Tishannia  
line-chan  
Chaos'babe  
Lord Makura  
Angel-Light-Girl  
saharasfury  
The Red Hawk  
K. Valentine  
Noon6  
Sabith**

And... I said my 100th reviewer woud get a surprise... and it goes to...

**Chaotic Rei**!

Girl... this chapter is YOURS!

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_

((Edited: 28.04.07))


	14. The Beauty Of Honesty

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 14**

_The Beauty of Honesty

* * *

_

Vincent thought that shopping was going to be a living torture, and it was at the beginning. But when the girls dragged him and Cloud into a clothing store, he found a place to sit. It was close to the dressing rooms, so he was able to see what ever the girls were trying on if they wanted to model the clothes. It was perfect. He sat back there with Cloud as the three women shopped. About ten minutes later, they each held a bundle of clothes to try on… well, actually they were all for Yuffie.

Vincent raised an eyebrow, "How much do you plan on buying?"

Yuffie rolled her eyes, "This was SO not my idea. And as for paying… I have no idea."

"Oh it'll be on us. Besides, we still need to get you something for the festival!" Tifa said brightly, shoving the young ninja into the dressing room. "Now come on, we're all waiting!"

"I'm NOT trying anything on unless you do it with me Tifa!"

The bar hostess sighed, "Fine. Aerith, what about you?"

"I'll wait with Cloud and Vincent!" she said brightly, pulling a chair over next to Cloud. Vincent smirked; the flower girl was obviously infatuated with the blonde. Sadly, he didn't notice just like normal. Vincent was slowly beginning to think that her affections weren't returned, but he wouldn't be absolutely sure until he asked. Which meant that he had to get rid of Aerith.

"Well, don't you have to get something for the festival as well?" he asked the pink clad woman.

She blushed, "Oh, I forgot about that! Thank you for reminding me Vincent!" and with that, she got up and went in search of a sundress.

The former Turk nodded in satisfaction and looked over at the blonde. "Is it me, or do you have two women after you?"

"Huh?" Cloud asked, looking somewhat startled. "Two women?"

Vincent tried not to roll his eyes at the younger man. "You haven't noticed? Aerith and Tifa. They're both after you."

Cloud smiled sadly, "Tifa doesn't like me…"

"How do you know?"

"She never shows it. I'm just her childhood friend."

Vincent looked at him solemnly. "Do you really believe that she doesn't like you?"

"I don't know. I know that Aerith likes me, but it doesn't matter because Yuffie's awaiting your opinion."

Vincent turned his head back to see his love standing in front of her dressing room looking highly uncomfortable. She was in a pair of nicely cut dark jeans and a tank top, and clearly didn't like it. He smiled at her, "If you don't like it, don't get it."

Yuffie smiled at him. "Thank you!" she cried, going back into the dressing room. She came out a minute later with all of the clothes in her arms. "Tifa just handed me stuff." She explained, going back into the store. Vincent shook his head in amusement and went back to his conversation with Cloud.

"You don't know if Tifa really likes you, so you don't want to hurt her feelings by dating Aerith." Vincent guessed.

"Exactly! I like Tifa, but I don't know if she honestly likes me back. I don't want to shut her out of my life just yet, but Aerith is really sweet. I… I like both of them."

Vincent chuckled, "No you don't."

"Excuse me?"

"You may like both of them, but you love one as a sister and one as a woman. You just have to find who is who."

Cloud looked desperately at the gunman. "You don't know?"

He smiled faintly, "I don't know everything Cloud."

"Damn it. You should." The blonde muttered, crossing his arms.

"I can't get inside your head, otherwise I would let you know. You know who you really like, you just don't want to admit it to yourself."

"You **really** need to stop talking."

Vincent smirked, "Why?"

"Because you're getting _everything_ right and you've only known me for a **day**." Cloud said, causing Vincent to chuckle.

Tifa and Aerith came back with some dresses and outfits and ducked inside of the dressing rooms. Vincent saw Yuffie come back with short and shirts just as Tifa stepped out of the dressing room. "Oh NO you don't! Go put those back! Do you even know the word skirt or jeans?"

"Nope." Yuffie said brightly with a smile.

"Well go put those back and I'll teach them to you!" Tifa scolded her, and Yuffie left. She stepped out of the dressing room fully and twirled for the men. "Well?"

"I like it." Cloud said, taking in the low-rise jeans and white tube top.

Vincent frowned. "It's nice if you want all of the male population hounding you."

Tifa looked in the mirror, "Really?"

"The jeans are flattering but I don't really understand why they have to be so low."

She looked at him strangely, "What year were you born in? This is what's in style."

"You don't have to be in style all of the time. And personally, I don't see how low jeans _ever_ became a style. They're about to fall off."

Tifa blinked a few times, "You're being dead honest aren't you?"

"I am." Vincent said, leaning back.

Cloud looked at the both of them. "I thought it was fine…"

Tifa shook her head, "No, Vincent's right. They really _are_ about to fall off…" and with that, she disappeared back into her dressing room.

Cloud looked over at the dark gunman, "Did she honestly buy that?"

"She did. And why shouldn't she? It was the truth."

He looked at Vincent like he was insane, "Do you realize that's what everyone wears these days?"

"Then people these days don't know the meaning of modesty." Vincent said, "Women can still look gorgeous without showing all skin."

"Hello?" Aerith called out, peaking her head out of the dressing room.

"We're still here Aerith." Vincent said, and she came out.

She was blushing like mad in a knee length skirt and a cute pink top. Cloud smiled, "Hey, this is the first time I've seen you wearing a skirt."

Vincent sighed, "I'll tell you the same thing I told Yuffie. If you don't like it, don't get it."

She smiled and nodded, going back into her dressing room. Cloud shook his head, "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Tell them what they want to hear?"

"Easy. They want to hear the truth. Be honest with them and they'll be honest with you. You might have to work on that a bit though…"

Cloud groaned and Vincent couldn't help but chuckled. "Vincent… how come you seem to know your way around women?"

"Do I look like I know what I'm doing?" Vincent asked, mildly surprised.

"Vincent, you're acting like a damn _**expert**_." Cloud hissed.

The dark gunman shook his head, "I sure don't feel like it."

"How come?"

"Because I never seem to know what I'm doing with Yuffie."

"So you two really are a couple…"

Vincent rolled his eyes, "No we're not."

"Huh?"

"It's called sarcasm Cloud." Vincent muttered, "I'm honest with her, but I'm just unsure about how honest I should be. I don't want to hurt her with putting something bluntly."

"Oh, I get it now. Well, take your own advice. It may hurt but at least they know what you think. You can apologize and say that you could have said it a better way, but at least they'll know." Cloud said.

Vincent raised an eyebrow at the young blonde. "Oh, and I'm the expert?"

The both of them were laughing when Yuffie came back to the dressing rooms. "What's so funny?" she asked the two men, tilting her head to the side.

"Nothing!" Cloud said with a smile. "Go on, we're all waiting for you three!"

Yuffie ducked into the last stall when Tifa and Aerith came out at the same time. Tifa grinned when she saw that Aerith was wearing a pair of khaki pants. "CLOUD! AERITH IS WEARING PANTS!"

"Huh?" he said, leaning forward. He smiled and laughed, "Holy she is! That's a step forward!"

When Vincent raised an eyebrow at the laughing pair, Aerith filled him in. "I'm a woman who loves dresses and long skirts. Actually… I'm surprise that I picked these up."

"Well they look good." Vincent answered honestly and Cloud agreed.

"Shirt's awesome too girl." Tifa said, giving her best friend a thumbs up. Aerith grinned and went back into her dressing room. "Well? What about me?" she asked.

This time she wore a pair of jeans in a light wash that rested just above her hips with a graphic tee. Vincent smiled and nodded, "Much better."

Tifa smiled from the compliment and looked at Cloud. "What about you?" she questioned, looking at the blonde.

He was about to say that she looked nice, but he remembered Vincent telling him to be honest. So, he took a chance. "I love the jeans. I like the shirt too, but I think I spotted a nicer one on the way in."

Tifa cocked her head to the side, "Which one?"

"Um… I don't remember where it is, but I'll look for it. What size?"

"Large please!" Tifa called as she went back into her dressing room. He was back within a minute and knocked on her door. She took the shirt from him and he came to sit back down next to Vincent.

"What did you get?" Vincent asked.

"You'll see." Cloud said with a smile, "And I swear it's appropriate."

"Cloud… you really think that this is cute?" Tifa asked, coming out of the dressing room. Vincent actually tried to hide his shock. Tifa was _stunning_!

She wore a burgundy shirt with the light wash jeans and it was actually a beautiful contrast. She sleeves were three quarter sleeves and had slashes it them, making the sleeves hang a bit. It was a scoop neck, so it showed some skin without being absolutely ridiculous. It hung on her frame perfectly without over accenting anything.

Cloud smiled, "Amazing."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tifa asked.

"That you look amazing." He said honestly.

She blushed from the compliment and turned to Vincent. He smiled, "He's right."

Yuffie squealed, "Oh my gawd Tifa! If you don't buy that I'm going to and **I'll** wear it!"

Tifa laughed and looked at what Yuffie was wearing. Her eyes widened and she began to snicker. "Vincent's going to be speechless."

Vincent couldn't see Yuffie because she was behind the door, and he wanted to know what she was wearing that made Tifa start to snicker. "Yuffie?" he asked.

"Yeah Vinnie?" she asked, coming out to stand in plain view. Tifa said Vincent was going to be speechless…

And she was damn right.

She wore a medium dark pair of jeans that hit just below her waist with a sheer deep purple shirt. It was longer than most, and it covered her back pockets, making her look a little taller. Vincent just sat at starred at the young woman in front of him. Cloud started to snicker at his new friend's face, and Yuffie smiled and bounced over to him.

"Glad ya' like it!" she said brightly, kissing his cheek lightly before going back inside her dressing room.

Aerith came out wearing a white skirt and a pink tank top. "What's going on out here?" she asked.

Tifa smirked, "Yuffie made Vincent speechless."

The flower girl giggled, and gained the approval of both men on her outfit.

Things went on like this for about another fifteen minutes. The men didn't mind the wait, seeing as they watched three beautiful women try to astound them. Yuffie easily had the most fun. Now that she knew what Vincent liked, she experimented a little bit. She ran to go get another outfit that was going to make his jaw drop. He smiled at her determination but highly doubted she would exceed.

Lesson learned today: **Never** underestimate a ninja. _Especially_ Yuffie.

When she stepped out of the dressing room for the final time, Vincent's jaw hit the floor. Tifa and Aerith giggled, and Cloud couldn't help but laugh. But when they saw what she was wearing they stopped and understood why he was stunned.

She wore long black pants that flared at the bottom with a bold red shirt. The shirt was a tank top with a dotted mesh over it, trimmed with lace. It was Victorian looking, something Yuffie hoped Vincent liked… which he did.

"You know, I would ask you to say something but I think you actually speechless says millions of things." Yuffie said with a smirk on her face.

Tifa laughed, "Well, we're shopping for festival dresses now so you guys scram! Get something for yourself while you're at it. And Vincent? Get some jeans. All black is depressing."

* * *

With the guys gone, the girls scrambled to find dresses before Tifa had to open up her bar. After a few minutes of searching, each of them found one and headed back to the bar.

The guys were there, each drinking a beer. Yuffie motioned for the two women to be quiet and sneaked up behind Vincent. She got a surprise when he didn't hear her coming up behind him, and pulled off her sneaky move. She grabbed his shoulders and he actually jumped! He spun around in his seat to meet a grinning Yuffie and he closed his eyes with a groan. He put his head in his claw while she gave him a hug. "Aw, I didn't think I get you!"

"I didn't even hear you coming!" he whispered, "I'm getting rusty…"

"Hey, it was just a prank…" Yuffie said, ruffling his raven black hair. "So, did you guys get anything?"

"We did. It's all ready back at the room." Vincent explained. She nodded and crawled onto his lap as Aerith sat down and Tifa opened the bar. She hid the shopping bags in the back closet and people slowly began to fill in. Soon, the bar was full of people laughing and sharing various stories.

A tall man with a black trench coat entered, but no one paid him any mind. He walked up to the bar and sat down a few stools down from Vincent and ordered a beer. Tifa handed him one and Cloud did a double take. "I think I know that man," he whispered to Vincent.

"Where from?" the gunman asked.

"I used to be in SOLIDER… I think that's the new general…"

Vincent nodded, looking at the man out of the corner of his eye at the newcomer. He had long silver hair and glowing green eyes, easily from numerous mako infusions. This new man intrigued him, and he and Cloud agreed to go see whom this guy was. They sat on either side of him, and the man looked at the both of them.

"What do you want?" he asked in a light tenor.

"Nothing really. I just thought I recognized you, that's all." Cloud said. "You wouldn't happen to be in SOLIDER would you?"

The man looked somewhat surprised, "I am."

"Your name?" Vincent asked.

The man turned around and glowing green eyes met crimson. "Sephiroth."

* * *

A/N: DUN DUN DUN! Enter Sephiroth! Hands off ladies, he's MINE. _AAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL_ MINE. ((lol)) I have a thinkg for bad guys... anyway!

Just a little thing... Sephiroth isn't insane here, and probably never will be in my fics. Because writing insane people is like putting me in my stories WAY to much. Yes, I'm insane. I mean, really, who has FRANK SINATRA and BARRY MANILOW on their MP3? Yeah, me. ((lol))

And as for who Cloud is going to go with as a pairing... I'm not going to say anything. The desicion is coming soon, but I can't tell you when because I completely ditched my plan. -- Yeah, smooth. So, I'm winging this to the end! Aren't you proud of me? I'm thinking about throwing in a twist... anyone have any good ideas? I may just leave this alone because I like what I'm coming up with so far.

And who knew Vincent had fashion sense? I know he may have been a look OOC in this chapter... but I luv it! ((squeals)) I like writing a happy Vincent. Writing depressed characters make me depressed, which makes the ENTIRE fic depressing. **Me + Depressing... NOT GOOD.**

**Tishannia  
Lord Makura  
Chaos'babe  
saharasfury  
Girl-who-sings-the-blues  
K. Valentine  
Sabith  
KatoriTsubasa  
kagura-ness  
line-chan  
The Red Hawk  
Chaotic Rei  
Noon6** -_ I'll take your suggestion into consideration! Now it's only a matter of figuring out WHERE to put it... ((eye twitch))  
_**Empress-Eerian-Sadow**

Thanks for reviewing everyone! I'm packing up in a week, so I'll update the day before I have to pack up the computer!

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-  
_

((Edited: 28.07.04 - Man I was a _spazz_ back when I first posted this, huh? xD))


	15. Questions Of A Rose

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 15**

_Questions Of A Rose

* * *

_

Cloud felt obligated to rent a room at the villa out to the general. Naturally he refused, but the blonde haired swordsmen wouldn't take no for an answer. "I have to really, you're my officer."

Sehpiroth blinked once when he heard this. "Excuse me?"

"I used to be a part of SOLDIER until I received mako enhancements based on Hojo's research. When the trainers learned how much I had received, they were afraid of what I was capable of. So, they banished me from the ranks."

"So you used to be a member?" The general asked.

Cloud nodded, "Yes sir. So, please, stay at the villa with Vincent and Yuffie."

"Who are they?"

Vincent held out his right hand, "Vincent Valentine."

Sephiroth blinked a few times and shook his hand. "As in the Turk? Aren't you supposed to be-?"

"Dead or older than 27?" Vincent asked with a smirk, "Yes. But, am I? No."

"How?"

Vincent starred in the general's glowing green eyes and drew his claw out from underneath his cloak, setting it with a clunk on the bar counter. "Thank Hojo for that." he said in a monotone voice.

Sephiroth nodded in agreement, "I have him to thank for my eyes as well. I do not know why they did not accept you Cloud for I received the same mako infusions."

"You entered SOLDIER a few years before I did." He explained.

The general nodded in agreement, "I must have. The government just started burning his files on all of his research."

"They're burning them?" Vincent cried, "Do they not realize that they can reverse the process and give people back their ability to be normal people?"

Sephiroth shook his head, "That's the same question I asked them. They said they tried that and it only killed their subject. I'm sorry Valentine, but you're stuck like that."

Silence greeted the general's words. Vincent didn't talk for the rest of the night.

After Tifa closed the bar, everyone formally introduced themselves. Cloud properly shook the general's hand, and Vincent gave him a nod.

Yuffie went after Vincent, and she shook the general's hand heartily. "Good to meet you General Sephiroth."

Sephiroth winced, "Please don't call me that. I'm on vacation as of now, and I hoped that I could be a somewhat normal person for a few weeks."

Yuffie grinned, "Then normal you'll be Sephy!"

Sephiroth winced again, and everyone laughed. Tifa patted the general's shoulder, "If you want to be normal, accepting Yuffie's nickname is step one. By the way, I'm Tifa Lockheart."

The general smiled, shaking her hand as well. "So you're the woman that owns the bar. I was told she was beautiful, but I'm afraid they didn't do you justice ma'am."

Tifa blushed at the compliment, and Cloud stiffened. Vincent smirked underneath his cloak. He knew the answer now, but too bad Cloud didn't. Sephiroth saw Cloud out of the corner of his eye, and nodded his head in apology. He relaxed slightly and watched as Aerith introduced herself.

"Hello Sephiroth, my name is Aerith." She said, holding out her hand to him.

Sephiroth actually was stunned. Thoughts were racing through his mind. _'There is no way that this is a live woman. It's just not possible!_' he kept on saying to himself. But the woman never vanished, and her hand did not lower. So, he took her hand in his and knew that a handshake would be an insult to her beauty. He raised her hand to his lips and gently kissed it. "A pleasure to meet you my lady."

Aerith went scarlet. Yuffie grinned, and Tifa had to hold in a giggle. Cloud smiled to himself and crossed his arms. Vincent smiled to himself, knowing exactly the answer to Cloud's dilemma. He loved Aerith as a sister, but he was obviously smitten with Tifa. After Sephiroth dropped her hand, she didn't step back from him and looked at her feet, her face still beet red. He smiled nervously at the laughing looks the company was giving him. "Well… should we be heading to the villa?"

Tifa nodded, still smiling. "Of course! Right this way!"

Yuffie bounced up to the blushing flower girl, "So, where do you guys stay?"

"Us? We live at the villa." She explained, walking next to the ninja.

"Aerith?" Sephiroth asked, coming up on her other side.

"Y-yes?" she asked nervously.

"I'm sorry about a few moments ago. I did not mean to embarrass you."

Aerith blushed, "It's all right… it's just that no one's treated me like that before."

"Then they haven't been treating you the way that you deserve to." He said simply, and Yuffie giggled.

"Well, I'm going to catch up with Vinnie!" she said and ran ahead.

Sephiroth cocked an eyebrow, "Who's Vinnie?"

Aerith laughed at the general's confusion. "Vincent."

"He allows her to call him that?" he asked, stunned.

"Well, they are a couple so I guess he puts up with it somehow."

Sephiroth smiled, "So, they're together."

"They are." Aerith said, and the two fell into an uncomfortable silence.

Sephiroth was racking his brain for something to start a conversation with. His conscience was laughing at him; he never had trouble with starting a conversation with a beautiful woman. But since he had lain on eyes on the flower girl, his definition of 'beautiful' went under a _serious_ redefinition. He offered his arm to her, "Could I escort you to your room?"

"Actually, I need to run by and see if I locked the flower shop up." She said, taking the arm he offered her. "Hey guys, I need to make a quick pit stop before I head back. Sephiroth's coming with me!"

"Okay!" Tifa called, waving back at the two.

Aerith told the general to turn right and go down to the end of the street, and he allowed her to direct him. Once they turned down the path to her shop, Sephiroth stopped.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, stopping and looking up at him.

The general shook off the feeling of being watched and shook his head. Aerith was temporarily mesmerized by the way his long silver hair caught what little light the lamps cast this late. "It's nothing." He said, and they continued walking.

"Hey pretty lady…" a voice called from the shadows. The form stumbled forward and a drunken man smiled at Aerith, "Looking for a place to stay for the night?"

"No thank you." She replied in a shaky voice, clinging to Sephiroth's arm. He pulled his arm out of her hold, and Aerith panicked. She was about to bolt when she felt a strong arm warp around her waist, and felt herself pressed up a strong and well-muscled chest.

"Leave." Sephiroth said in a monotone voice. If Aerith didn't feel threatened, she would have giggled. _'His is almost as good as Vincent's!'_ she thought silently.

"Aw, come on, share the pretty lady!" another voice said, coming out the shadows. Two more men joined the first two, and Sephiroth's grip around her frail form tightened.

"I'm not a sharing man." He said in a cool voice. Aerith shuddered, and he gave her a reassuring squeeze. Sephiroth wasn't a man for playing save the damsel in distress, but he never backed down when the said damsel was threatened.

"Then we should teach you how!" the man yelled, and charged. Evidently they were soldiers, because they all wielded swords with an expert grace, even when drunk.

Sephiroth pushed Aerith behind him and drew his long katana. "I won't tell you again. Leave."

But the men kept coming. Sephiroth launched himself and within minutes had all of the men on the ground, unconscious or against a wall. He sheathed his sword and grabbed Aerith' arm and took off for her flower shop. But, one man hadn't been disposed of correctly. He staggered to his feet and lunged for the flower girl's red jacket. He scored the top of her dress, and it ripped. Aerith covered herself with a cry of shock, and Sephiroth spun around. He socked the guy in the face, and he crumpled, nose bleeding.

Aerith was crying, trying desperately to find a way to get her dress to cover what was needed. Sephiroth found her crying and whipped off his trench coat. He put it over her shoulders and buttoned the buttons up over her chest. "Are you all right?" he asked softly, hands on her shoulders.

She nodded; sniffling, and Sephiroth asked if she wanted to go check on the flower shop or head back. "Head back… please." She whispered through her tears.

He didn't say a word, and squatted to she was slightly taller than him. He looked into her wet green eyes. "You're safe, nothing's going to hurt you."

"I know." She whispered with a smile, "Thank you Sephiroth."

He gave her a hesitant smile and nodded, "Do not worry about it. Come, your friends will be worried."

* * *

When they entered the villa, Tifa saw Aerith' state and rushed over. "Aerith! What happened?"

Cloud came over and looked at Sephiroth for an explanation. The general sighed, "I suggest that there be some kind of patrols along the city after the bars close. What happened shouldn't have been possible."

"What did happen?" Tifa asked, hugging her friend.

"Drunks." Sephiroth said with disgust. "She's fine. They didn't touch her." He said, looking directly at Cloud.

"Why is she wearing your coat?" he asked, not once looking at Aerith.

"A man ripped the top of my dress." Aerith said weakly, "Sephiroth probably broke his nose."

Tifa giggled, quickly stopped when she discovered that wasn't the best idea. Aerith smiled, and the two of them walked to their room to get Aerith something else to wear.

Cloud looked hard at Sephiroth and nodded. "Thank you."

"Do not thank me, it's what any man should have done in that situation."

"Then I thank you for keeping it clean. I assume that they'll be gone in the morning?"

Sephiroth smirked, "They won't be returning to that street for some time."

* * *

**((A Few Days Later))**

Aerith quickly got over the episode and whenever she needed to go somewhere at night, Sephiroth went with her. It was like an unspoken agreement within the group. No one asked him to and he never talked about it being too much of a chore. Tifa demanded that he stay for the festival, and he balked at the idea as expected. Cloud tried to sway him but to no avail. Vincent spoke up and said that he and Yuffie were staying, and Sephiroth agreed. He figured that if Vincent could live through it, so could he.

Until he learned that he had to have a date.

'_Planet… when was the last time I had a formal date?'_ he wondered as he browsed through a clothing shop. When they told him he had to get something besides black and silver he immediately wanted to leave right then. Vincent told him shopping isn't bad unless you go with women. Sephiroth agreed and finally drug himself out of the villa to go shopping. Tifa told him it was casual, and the thanked the powers for his luck. If he had to dress up he would have had a _serious_ issue. He came out a few minutes later with jeans and a white shirt. His date better be grateful…

* * *

"Vincent?" Cloud asked, coming to sit on the couch next to him.

The gunman looked up from his book. "Yes?" He replied.

"You know when you talked to me a few days ago about Aerith and Tifa?"

Vincent, sensing that this would be a long conversation, book marked the page he was reading and setting it down. "Yes, I remember."

"I've been thinking about it, and I really need someone to tell me."

"Cloud, I'm not going to tell you because I don't know-"

"I know that you know how I act around them both. I know there's a difference, but I can't tell."

Vincent sighed, "With Aerith, you're protective. You want to make sure she's happy and you worry about her well-being. With Tifa… you act as if any man that looks at her is dead, and are jealous that he has her attention and not you."

Cloud blinked. "I didn't actually think that you would answer."

"I'm just full of surprises." Vincent said, going back to his book.

Cloud nodded and got up, but frowned, "I'm going to ask Tifa… is that what I should do?"

"I'm not in your head Cloud, so quit asking me questions that I cannot answer."

He sighed, "All right, but what should I tell Aerith?"

"What do you need to tell her?" Vincent asked, looking up at Cloud over his book, "You're asking Tifa to the celebration."

"But no doubt she's going to be hurt and I don't-"

"I know that you don't want to hurt her feelings. Have Sephiroth take her or something."

Cloud's jaw dropped. "What?" he gasped, "Vincent, we just met him and-"

"That doesn't seem to bother you when he goes out with her at night so she's not jumped again."

"That's because I know he can protect her when I'm not there!" Cloud said, crossing his arms.

"You let him watch her. It is downright impossible to watch a beautiful woman such as Aerith for this long and NOT become attracted to her."

"How… are you attracted to her Vincent?"

"I think she is a kind and gentle woman, the one who is just dying to become your friend no matter who you are. So, yes, I think I rather like her. If someone can see past what Hojo made me, that person is deserving of my friendship." Vincent said, turning a page.

It amazed Cloud how Vincent could talk about serious stuff and act like he was talking about the weather. It really did! He wished that he might be able to do that someday, but he focused on getting Tifa to go with him to the celebration instead.

"So you're suggesting that I go ahead and ask Tifa."

"Pretty much."

Cloud grinned and left for the bar. Yuffie smiled as she plopped down next to him on the couch. "Hey Vinnie!"

"Hello Yuffie." He said, closing his book. He knew it was no use to read when she was talking to him.

"So… is Cloud gonna ask Tifa?" she asked, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Mhmm. Were you listening?"

"Heh… oopsies." She giggled nervously. He chuckled and pulled the young ninja onto his lap, swinging his legs up onto the couch. She curled up with a sigh. "Tifa's going to be thrilled." She said.

Vincent nodded, "What do you think Aerith will do?"

"Oh… poor Aerith… she likes Cloud."

"What about Sephiroth?" Vincent asked.

Yuffie tilted her head to the side, "You think Aerith likes him?"

"That I'm not sure of, but I think that he finds her beautiful."

"There is more to it than beauty, you know that Vincent." The general said, coming to sit in the armchair next to the couch.

"I know there is more to a woman than beauty," Vincent said, "But most men do not see past a woman's beauty sometimes."

"I see past it." Sephiroth said, leaning back, "She's a very lovely young woman in all that she does. She trusts people to a degree that most of her friends do not understand."

Vincent nodded, "She does."

Yuffie looked at the two men. "You're making my head hurt. I'm off to the bar!" she said, jumping up.

The gunman watched sadly as she left the villa. "Well… so much for enjoying her company for a while."

Sephiroth smiled apologetically, "Follow her then."

"What?"

"If you want to spend time with her, follow her, hang out with her and her friends. They're not that bad." The general said, standing up.

The gunman shrugged and stood up as well. They walked to the door and Vincent stopped. "If you want to ask her, don't hesitate to do so." Sephiroth nodded silently, and the two men headed for the bar.

* * *

As they were about to ascend the steps, Aerith came out in a rush. She was acting as if nothing was bothering her, and a normal person wouldn't have seen anything wrong. But Sephiroth and Vincent weren't normal people. They watched her leave the bar at a fast walk, her head down. Vincent looked to the general and he nodded. The silver haired man jogged behind her, seeing as she had gone into a full-blown run. Vincent looked at the bar, wondering what happened that caused her to act like this.

"Vinnie!" Yuffie said happily, "I saw you and Sephy coming… where is he?"

Vincent didn't want to answer that one. Obviously by her face and Tifa's they had no idea that Aerith was hurting, and he didn't want to be the one to reveal that. Cloud was looking extremely relieved and Vincent saw his escape.

"Cloud… what happened here?"

"Uh…" he said, looking up at Tifa. She blushed, which made him smile and look back down at the counter.

Vincent rubbed his temple, "You asked her to the celebration."

"Yup!" Yuffie cried, "It was really funny because Cloud kept stuttering and-"

"I was NOT stuttering!" He cried defensively, going redder.

"It's all right, you did it. That's what counts." Tifa said with a small smile, leaning over the bar to give him a peck on the cheek. His blue eyes went wide, and he went eve redder. Yuffie laughed, and Vincent couldn't help but join in. Now he knew why Aerith was upset. She really did like the swordsman.

"Tifa… do you know why Aerith left in a rush?" he asked, sitting down next to Yuffie at the bar.

"Well, she didn't leave in a rush from what I could tell, but she said that she wanted to get back to her flower shop. Why?"

"She left in a rush." Vincent said, looking sadly at her.

"Oh… is she okay?" Tifa asked softly.

"What? Aerith's hurt?" Cloud asked, looking hard at the gunman.

"She'll be fine. Sephiroth went to talk to her."

* * *

Sephiroth came up to the flower shop and let Aerith have some time alone. After a few minutes, he walked in silently, the bell not ringing. He closed the door and found Aerith with her back to him, eyes closed facing a bouquet of yellow daisies. He saw a lone tear fall from her face, catch the light, and land on the top of her hand. His heart fell, and he moved forward to comfort her. He saw a bucket of roses, and plucked the biggest and brightest one.

Sephiroth walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. When she was about to turn around, he gripped her shoulder hard enough so she couldn't. His other arm wrapped around and he offered her the rose with a small smile.

"A rose can say and ask many things, but I wonder if you can guess what I want it to ask." He said softly.

Aerith took the rose with a small smile on her face, her sorrow vanishing. She paused to think about it for a while, the rose twirling in her fingers. "If you're charming?" she asked.

Sephiroth smiled, "No, but I wouldn't mind that one answered."

"Very charming." Aerith said with a giggle, tilting her head to the side. Sephiroth watched in fascination as her chestnut brown hair caught the light from the ceiling lights of the shop. He shook his head clear when he heard her speak again. "If you're handsome?"

"No."

Aerith giggled, "But would you like to know that one anyway?"

The general grinned, "Only if you wish to."

She turned around and met his gaze. "Extremely handsome." She said softly. She thought for a few moments then sighed. "I give up. What did you want to ask me?"

Sephiroth put both of his hands on her shoulders and looked down into her mesmerizing green eyes. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the celebration with me."

* * *

"So… do you guys really have to leave after the celebration?" Tifa asked, leaning against the bar counter.

Yuffie looked at Vincent and he nodded. "Yeah… I guess we do." She said, looking back at the older woman.

"There has to be a reason that you want to go to Midgar." Cloud said, "What is it?"

Yuffie kept her mouth shut, seeing as the only reason they were headed there was to get away from Godo and Wutai. She had a feeling that Vincent wanted to keep that confidential.

"You know that Yuffie is from Wutai right?"

Her eyes narrowed at the gunman. Well, so much for keeping it quiet.

"Yeah… what about it?" Tifa asked.

"She ran away from her father and found me in Nibelheim. We got to know each other, and then flew with Cid over to Coasta del Sol."

"I get it!" Cloud exclaimed, "You're running away!"

"In a sense." Vincent replied with a nod of his head. "We're not running away from the law, we're just running from what has to happen sooner or later."

"And what has to happen sooner or later?" Yuffie questioned, looking up into his red eyes.

He looked down at her sadly, "We can't run forever Yuffie. You're going to have to go home at some time."

"But-"

"It'll be all right. You won't go alone." He said softly, eyes shinning. She smiled up at him and hugged him tightly. He surprised everyone in the room when he plucked her off her seat and pulled her onto his lap. Yuffie didn't complain much and settled down into her new position. Tifa and Cloud were grinning at the unlikely pair when Aerith and Sephiroth came into the bar.

Tifa looked worriedly at her best friend. "Aerith, I'm so-"

"Don't worry about it!" Aerith said brightly, dragging Sephiroth over to sit with her friends.

Vincent smiled at the general's face. He seemed a little shocked, and why shouldn't he be when a beautiful flower girl is holding his hand?

* * *

A/N: Yay, I updated before I lost the internet:) Yes, as of Tuesday or Wednesday, I WILL NOT HAVE THE INTERNET. We're moving, and that's the day my mother takes the modem back. -- So, I'm updating before I'm unable to.

I'm also starting school in two weeks, so I won't be able to update as much then, maybe once or twice a month. So, don't get used to frequent updates anymore because you probably won't see them as much as you like to. I'M SO SORRY!

Anyway, I'm starting to plan this one out again because I REALLY don't like running around in the dark. It's fun the first time, but it gets old after that.

**Chaos'babe  
Sabith  
Angel-Light-Girl  
saharasfury  
Tishannia  
Lord Makura  
Midnight-Chaos-Flame  
line-chan  
Damon Demon  
Empress-Eearin-Sadow  
Chaotic Rei  
Noon6  
The Red Hawk  
Katreda**

Thank you all SOO much for reviewing!

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_

((Edited: 28.04.07))


	16. Inside Your Heaven

**Ninja and the Demon – Chapter 16**

_Inside Your Heaven _

_Vincent refrained from rolling his eyes. "No matter how long you stare at a mirror Cloud, you're reflection won't change," he told the blonde as he put on his long coat. _

Sephiroth chuckled as he combed his long, silver hair. "He's right you know. Tifa will melt when she sees you, so don't worry so much."

The swordsman let out a frustrated sigh as he continued to study his reflection. He wore black boots with a pair of slacks, and a long sleeved, button up, dark red shirt. His hair was the same as always, but his face clearly showed that he was nervous.

Vincent shook his head in amusement as he buttoned up his long, dark blue coat. He made sure the high collar wasn't in his face; Yuffie made it clear that she wanted to see his face tonight. It helped that his long ebony hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, revealing his face completely. His long coat paired with brown boots and jeans in a light wash made the man called Vincent Valentine look like someone completely different.

Sephiroth let out a shaky breath. This wasn't him; he was beginning to itch for the black outfit that he always wore instead of these… things. Dark brown boots, dark jeans and a long sleeved white shirt completely transformed the general. But what made him uncomfortable were the baggy sleeves, and the dark green tunic didn't help either. ((A/N: Will Turner's usual outfit in PotC. Great example if you're confused.)) His long silver hair hung down past his waist like it normally did, and Sephiroth felt like a laughing stock. What would his men think if they saw him now?

But both men didn't have time to stress out before Vincent pushed them out of the room and into the lobby of the villa. "Do you want to keep them waiting?" he asked, "Let's get moving you two."

Yuffie swallowed nervously as she smoothed out her dress. Tifa smiled as she hugged the shorter woman. "You look amazing." She said softly.

Aerith nodded, "You really do. Come on, I want to see Cloud's face when he sees Tifa in a dress!"

Yuffie managed to smile through her nerves. "Personally, I want to see everyone's faces when they you wearing something besides pink!" The ninja retorted.

Tifa laughed, "I could say the same for you in a dress too Yuff. Com eon, we've been keeping them waiting long enough."

Sephiroth leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, fingers drumming on his arm. Vincent was sitting down comfortably in a chair, his long legs stretched out in front of him. His arms were folded and resting behind his head while he was looking up at the ceiling, eyes closed. Cloud was standing up, pacing around with his hands in his pockets. All of them were waiting, some more nervously than others.

Tifa came into the room, and Cloud stopped wearing a hole in the floor. His blue eyes widened when he saw her. Her long, dark brown hair was pinned up in a bun, completely out of her wine colored eyes. Her ivory dress only went to her knees in graceful waves. Gold beading was found below the bust and around the neckline of the dress. He smiled when she walked over, discovering that she wasn't wearing heels today. Now he could easily look into her eyes without craning his head up.

Before Cloud could even say anything, it was Vincent's turn to be amazed. Yuffie came out in a blue and white sundress. It was a floral print, but it wasn't bold at all. Two spaghetti straps tied around her neck, making a halter. Yuffie's black hair was completely curled, and pinned up on one side. Vincent stood up with a grin and gave Yuffie a kiss on her cheek.

"Stunning." he said simply in her ear, which made her giggle. She and Tifa looked back at the doorway.

"Aerith," Tifa said gently, "Sephiroth is waiting for you."

All was quiet for a few moments. Then the soft clicking of heels was heard as she finally came into the room. Aerith stood there, looking at the floor. Sephiroth's heart flew to his throat as he looked at the beauty in front of him. She wore a dress that brushed the top of her feet, the silk pure lavender. It was short sleeved with a pink bow tied just under her chest, giving her a more hourglass look. What entranced everyone was her hair, and the fact that she had done absolutely nothing to it. Chestnut brown hair fell down in thick waves to her lower back, gleaming in the light of the room.

Aerith finally looked up, searching the room for her date. Sephiroth moved from his position against the wall and came up silently behind the beautiful flower girl. Placing his hands on her waist, he leaned down to whisper something in her ear. She blushed, turning around to look at him. Her green eyes looked all over him, taking in his look. She smiled up at him and gave a firm nod, and he smiled back. Sephiroth offered Aerith his arm, which she gracefully took. They looked to the other couples, waiting. Cloud took Tifa's hand, making the both of them blush slightly. Vincent offered Yuffie his arm, but she refused it. Instead, she went around to his left side and placed her small and delicate hand into his metal claw. He was startled, but all uncertainties left him when she smiled up at him like she always did. Everyone couldn't help but smile when they saw his claw close gently around her hand. They left the villa and headed to the celebration.The stream of people was impossible to fight against, so they just let it lead them to the main street of Coasta Del Sol. The band was playing while couples danced however they wished to. Slow or fast, follow the steps or make it up… it was all possible. The shops were dark, but the lights strung around them were on and bright, making the street glow. The street lamps were on, but dimmed as to not be a harsh light on the scene.

Tifa grinned and pulled Cloud onto the street where everyone was dancing. She allowed him to take over the dance, and they were soon gliding away from the other two couples.

Vincent caught Yuffie's pleading gaze and sighed. "We could dance Yuffie, but I don't know the steps very well."

"That's okay, we'll wing it!" She cried, hoping it would change his mind.

The gunman laughed as he allowed to her to drag him out onto the street. "You know, the more I hang around you, the more natural 'winging it' becomes."

As Yuffie laughed, Aerith looked up at Sephiroth hopefully. The general looked down at her with genuine regret. "I'm afraid that I do not know this one. I'm truly sorry Aerith."

"Oh, its okay." She replied with a false smile. Anyone would have thought it was really, but Sephiroth saw right through it.

"No, it's not okay." He said gently, taking her hand. "I don't know the steps to this dance, but that doesn't mean I don't know others."

Aerith blinked, "But I don't think I'll know any of the dances you do."

Sephiroth grinned as he spun her. "Well then I guess we will just have to… wing it." Aerith laughed as they danced to their own beat right in the middle of the sidewalk.

Yuffie giggled as she watched the couple on the sidewalk dance. "Looks like we had the right idea!"

"So it does." He replied with a smile. As the song ended, the gunman brushed a stray curl out of Yuffie's face. She was somewhat startled by the gentle display of affection, but she smiled up at him, and he smiled back. He cupped the back of her head as his claw wrapped securely around her waist. He leaned down slowly and captured her lips in a gentle and loving kiss. She melted into him, allowing him to have total control. One of her hands went to stroke his cheek while the other rested above his heart. It began to speed up when she allowed him to enter her mouth. His hand traveled down her back-

"I hate to interrupt, but we're in public…" someone said through a laugh. Yuffie pulled away from the kiss and turned around, while Vincent just stared at Cloud.

"I'm busy." He said flatly.

He grinned, "We could all see that. But don't you think that you should share Yuffie a bit and let us all hang out with her before you take her away?"

Vincent pretended to think about it. "No." he said firmly, making Yuffie blush, which in turn caused everyone to laugh.

Sephiroth shook his head, "At least let us talk to her for a minute or two before you run off with her for the night."

"I'd actually rather run off with her right now." Vincent said smoothly, hugging Yuffie closer.

She laughed, "Aw Vinnie, I didn't know you felt that way!" she teased. Then she became serious, standing on her tip toes to whisper something in his ear. "We have the entire night. Don't worry, we'll get some alone time Vincent."

Vincent grinned and kissed her again, despite the fact their four friends were watching. This kiss was intense, and filled with strong desire. Yuffie collapsed into him, and he gladly supported her against him. Sephiroth smiled and shook his head while everyone either was grinning or stifling their giggles. There was nothing on this planet that could break these two apart.

Another song came up, and Vincent reluctantly pulled away. Yuffie gasped, the air rushing back into her lungs. He smirked, but was some what surprised when Yuffie attacked his lips. He smiled against them and kissed her back. She slid her arms around his neck, and pulled herself closer against him sharply. He growled when he felt her small from meld into his strong one, and held her even tighter. He tore away with a quiet gasp, and kissed her neck right below her left ear. Yuffie craned her neck around to whisper in his ear.

"Dance with me Vincent."

He straightened up, and she leaned her head against his chest. He laid his cheek on top of her head, the smell of her hair filling his senses. He grabbed her hand, intertwined their fingers and they began to sway to the beat. The man began to sing in a beautiful tenor, the piano backing him up and creating a melodic tune.

_I've been down  
Now I'm blessed  
I felt a revelation coming 'round  
I guess its right, it's so amazing  
Every time I see you, I'm alive_

An acoustic guitar began to strum chords, and the dancing couples swayed to the slow and steady beat. Cloud followed Vincent's lead and wrapped his arms around Tifa's form. She didn't blush this time, but she smiled instead. She slid her arms around his neck, which made him look down nervously, his face flushing. Tifa laughed and kissed him on the cheek.

_You're all I've got  
You life me up  
The sun and the moonlight  
All my dreams are in your eyes_

Sephiroth watched Aerith gaze and Yuffie and Vincent. He knew that she wanted what they had. He also knew that he couldn't give it to her, not yet. But he didn't want to see sadness in her emerald eyes. He took her hand, making her turn around. Placing it on his shoulder, he took her other hand and placed his free hand on her waist. She blushed scarlet as they began to dance. The drums came through for the chorus, putting power behind the words.

_I wanna be inside your heaven  
Take me to the place you cry from  
Where the storm blows your way  
I wanna be the earth that holds you  
Every bit of air you're breathin' in  
A soothin' wind  
I wanna be inside your heaven_

A woman took over the song, and the piano and guitar switched keys so she could comfortably sing. Vincent kissed Yuffie's brow, causing her to smile as the woman singer's strong and clear soprano voice rang out over the peaceful street.

_When we touch, when we love  
The stars light up, the wrong becomes undone  
Naturally; my soul surrenders  
The sun and the moonlight  
All my dreams are in your eyes_

Cloud and Tifa had been looking into each other's eyes… up until now. She looked down shyly, and Cloud touched her cheek. She looked back up at him, and he reached behind her head to undo her bun. Dark brown hair spilled down, and he smiled faintly as he ran a hand through the think tresses. When his gaze met hers again, the smile faded. He moved slowly moved closer and Tifa's eyes fluttered close. He closed his, and their lips met with a salvo of internal fireworks. Cloud's hand stopped running through her hair, and instead found its way to the back of her head. Her hands tentatively rose to rest on his cheeks. One eventually went to his shoulder, while one hand brushed through his hair. When they separated, they both smiled. Cloud closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. She giggled, closing her eyes and thinking about how lucky she was. Every woman here wanted to be in Cloud's arms, and she had beaten them all.

_I wanna be inside your heaven  
Take me to the place you cry from  
Where the storm blows your way  
I wanna be the earth that holds you  
Every bit of air you're breathin' in  
A soothin' wind  
I wanna be inside your heaven_

Aerith looked over at just the right time to see Cloud kiss Tifa, and she felt as if she had just been shot in the heart. She stopped dancing and her eyes began to fill up with tears. Sephiroth looked down at her worriedly, and then followed her gaze. He found Cloud and Tifa smiling at each other, and he quickly put tow and two together. He grabbed her hand and pulled her in to a shop doorway.

"Aerith…" he said softly, rubbing her arms. "Aerith, look at me." When she did, Sephiroth saw a few tears running down her smooth cheeks. He brushed them away without even thinking about it. "Please don't cry…" he told her, "Beautiful women are not supposed to cry."

"I'm sorry…" she whispered, "I just can't help it! What doesn't he see in me?"

Sephiroth's heart broke when he saw more tears fall. He enveloped her from into the circle of his arms and rubbed her back, willing the tears to stop. She cried into his chest, clinging to him for support. The man joined the woman in the song, and their voices melded together to make the music almost angelic.

_When minutes turn to days and years  
If mountains fall I'll still be here  
Holdin' you until the day I die_

Aerith pushed herself away from Sephiroth's hold, but she soon discovered that she enjoyed his strong arms wrapped around her. She slid her arms around his waist, and he stiffened. She almost laughed, but found that she couldn't. His muscles slowly relaxed and he discovered something. Aerith might not be physically strong, but the feel of her arms around him rendered him immobile. She lifted her head up to look at him, her green eyes still filled with tears.

Sephiroth's heart broke all over again. "What I wouldn't' do to see you happy right now…" he whispered.

Aerith blinked. "What? What do you mean?"

"I want you to smile and laugh tonight. I love it when you do." He said. His voice didn't sound like he meant it, but Aerith saw it all in his glowing green eyes. He was dead serious.

"I know something." She said hesitantly. Before he could ask what it was, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek. It wasn't what she really wanted to do, but she didn't want to push anything.

He looked down at her, eyes shinning with hope and a hint of fear. "Is that what you really wanted to do?" he asked.

"No-" she began, but that was all the general needed. He leaned down without hesitation and kissed her chastely upon her pink lips. What he wasn't expecting was for her to kiss him back.

_I wanna be inside your heaven  
Take me to the place you cry from  
Where the storm blows your way_

When he pulled away, he looked down at her in surprise. She raised an eyebrow, "Is that what you really wanted to do?" she asked, repeating his previous question.

What Sephiroth did next was completely unexpected.

He laughed.

Not just some laugh because it was funny, not because he was happy… it was a laugh of relief. He pulled her close to him…. and just laughed. Aerith smiled into his tunic, close to laughter herself.

Nothing was perfect, and they were far from it. Heck, she wasn't even sure if she was desperate for someone to take Cloud's place in her life, or if she really wanted that someone to stay with her for the rest of her life. Nothing was perfect, nothing was certain… but one thing was.

They would stick together, no matter what. Even if they become lovers or stayed friends… they would stay together as long as they both lived.

_I wanna be inside your heaven  
Take me to the place you cry from  
Where the storm blows your way_

Yuffie shifted in Vincent's arms, and he looked down at her. He smiled and kissed both of her eyelids, then finally her lips. She smiled against him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He tensed and drew away. Her brow furrowed, confused. Wasn't he all ready to take her away a few minutes ago? Seeing her confusion, Vincent knew that he better explain himself.

"If I let you kiss me like that, then we're not going to make it back to the room." he said softly in her ear, and she went bright red. She hugged him closer, and he was content to rest his head on her shoulder, even if she was a little short.

_I wanna be inside your heaven  
Take me to the place you cry from  
Where the storm blows your way_

Soon, Vincent threw his thoughts out the window and kissed the ninja again. She was hesitant to kiss him back to passionately, but when he showed her that he didn't care any more, she threw out all reason in a second. He broke away quickly and started moving through the crowds. Yuffie giggled, following him. She grabbed his claw in both of her hands, grinning. She knew where he was going… and she wanted to follow. The thought of doing this a few days ago would have made her nervous, but all reason and common sense had left a few moments before.

_I wanna be the earth that holds you  
Every bit of air you're breathin' in  
A soothin' wind  
I wanna be inside your heaven_

But Yuffie and Vincent never made it to the villa, or even down the street… when the celebration was ambushed.

A/N: I come back after a week and give you... THIS. I bet you REALLY don't like me right now. But you know what? I really don't care. . At least I UPDATED before I was gone for 2 weeks! I'm in an apartment right now, and 4 people are sharing ONE computer. Yeah, it's hard to type. HOPEFULLY I can get the next chapter of Don't Look Back up soon... don't count on it though, seriously.

I've been thinking about where this one is going, and I think that this fic is going to be a LOT longer than I thought it was going to be. I can EASILY see it going to 25 chapters... at the least. Okay, well, maybe not, who knows.

**Chaos'babe  
Chaotic Rei  
Katreda  
Sabith  
Tishannia  
Redwood  
taggerung0254  
KatoriTsubasa  
Empress-Eerian-Sadow  
redlei  
Lord Makura  
marajade963  
Caim soul eater  
Noon6  
SakuraAkiko**

I'm SO glad that you guys reviewed, and hopefully I haven't lost you guys... thank you so much for hanging in there!

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_

P.S. The song is called Inside Your Heaven by Bo Bice. Okay, Carrie Underwood sings it too, so she owns it as well. I imagined them singing it together, which I think would sound AWESOME. I have both versions. . Personally, I think Bo sings it better... but SSSHHH! ((lol))


	17. The Truth Revealed

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 17**

_The Truth Revealed

* * *

_

"Run!" Sephiroth cried, grabbing Aerith by the hand. He pulled her through the panicking crowd along side Tifa and Cloud.

"What's going on?" She cried, trying to keep up with the general's long strides, and failing. He saw her struggling to keep up, but knew that she couldn't match him. So he stopped and scooped her up in his arms and took off even faster. Tifa let go of Cloud's hand and began to run as fast as she could, Cloud on her heels. They caught up with Vincent and Yuffie, who were all ready at the villa.

"What are you guys doing?" The gunman cried when he saw the four run into the villa.

"We're coming with you!" Sephiroth replied, dashing into his room.

"What?" Yuffie asked, looking at the rest of the group in confusion.

"Don't you think that we would be questioned?" Tifa said quickly, "We don't want to lie, so we're just going to avoid questioning. So, we're coming with you!" she said, dashing off to her own room. Aerith followed her, and Cloud ducked into his. Everyone was out within seconds with his or her bags.

"You packed before hand." Vincent said dryly, glaring at the general.

"I'll explain later!" He cried, dashing out the door. "Now, if you want to get Yuffie out of here then I suggest you hurry!"

* * *

Once the six were well away from Coasta Del Sol, they set up camp. Vincent didn't even pitch his tent. He just leaned against a tree and starred at Sephiroth. The general sighed and let his bag fall to the ground. He would unpack later… if anything was left of him to unpack it.

"You knew that the celebration would be attacked." Vincent said in a monotone voice and Sephiroth reluctantly nodded. Crimson eyes flashed. "How?"

"Because… I'm not here on vacation." The general explained, his voice strong. Glowing green eyes starred into crimson ones, not showing a speck of fear. "I was sent to Coasta Del Sol because Godo sent me. He heard that Lady Yuffie had traveled this way, and he was desperate to get her back, desperate enough to send the general of SOILDER. I was to capture her and return her to marry her husband."

"WHAT?!" Yuffie screamed, "You've got to be kidding me!"

Sephiroth's gaze flicked to her stormy gray eyes for a second. "I am not. Then I discovered that Godo didn't give me all of the details. He didn't say have you back before a certain time, he just said to get you back to Wutai. He also didn't say who your groom was. I went to the bar to think about my next move when you all introduced yourselves. I chose then to try and figure out all of the details before I actually captured you."

"So you're still waiting?" Vincent asked coolly.

"No, I am not." Sephiroth said. "Because I know the answer after I sent a message with Cid to drop it off at Wutai, thus the reason he was not at the celebration. I received it a few hours before hand."

"What did it say?" Yuffie asked, holding Vincent's arm.

"It told me that a wedding date was not set and would depend on when you returned."

"Oh good-"

"But, I did learn who your groom was to be." Sephiroth said softly, looking directly into Yuffie's eyes.

"Who… who was it?" She asked.

The general looked at her for a while, and then sighed, closing his eyes. "Me."

"THAT'S SICK!" Yuffie cried, "YUCK!"

Sephiroth couldn't help but chuckle at her response. "Well… that's not exactly what my thoughts were. They were more along the lines of, 'Vincent is going to **kill** me' sort of thing."

Everyone smiled at that. Vincent noticed that Aerith, Tifa and Cloud didn't seem shocked. "You told them, didn't you? Everyone except us." He stated.

"I did." The general admitted, "But I didn't see any other choice. I knew that Godo would have them questioned, seeing as Tifa owns one of the two bars in the city. No doubt she would have 'heard' something."

Vincent was still glaring at the general. He was wary of him once again, but it would take much more to thaw his exterior than last time. Sephiroth saw it in his gaze and nodded once to the gunman.

Trust had been shaken, but the truth had been revealed. Vincent found that he couldn't be mad at Sephiroth. After all, he had come clean and given him and Yuffie valuable information.

If they just stayed away from Wutai and didn't bring Sephiroth anywhere near there, they would be safe.

But once you lose trust, you must work harder to get it back.

* * *

The next morning, everyone broke camp quickly and early, setting out away from Coasta Del Sol.

"Where are we headed?" Aerith asked.

"Away." Vincent answered, ahead of the group. His scarlet cloak was flowing out behind him, his raven hair pulled back into his bandana. Yuffie sighed. _'Great, we're back to one worded responses. Just __**fantastic**__.' _She grumbled to herself.

The group traveled in silence, the main cause the tension between Vincent and Sephiroth. Yuffie had gotten over her anger before she even went to bed, so she was fine with Sephiroth's actions. Well, somewhat anyway. She wanted to tell him that she was fine with the things he had done, but she knew that would make Vincent angry, and that was THE last thing she wanted to do.

A crash broke the silence. Everyone spun around and the dark blue dragon raised its head up, looking at the party with one amber eye.

"This isn't good." Cloud said.

"Who votes run?" Aerith asked.

Sephiroth grimaced, "You do not run from these creatures."

"You're saying attack?" Yuffie cried, "Are you nuts? You're not even as big as it's HEAD!"

"Never run." Vincent said, and whipped out a gun. He pointed it at the dragon's head, and shot. The dragon moved its head when it heard the shot, and the bullet flew past. Crimson eyes widened in shock. "I never miss…" he whispered to himself.

"If you never miss, then we don't have an ordinary dragon on our hands!" Tifa cried, slipping on a glove and dropping her bag.

The group readied their weapons, and Aerith surprised everyone when she pulled out a staff. Sephiroth mentally slapped himself; a staff? Who attacked with a staff?

Apparently Aerith did, and she was damn good with it. She charged up an attack and unleashed it on the dragon, making it rear its head back in pain. She smiled and Sephiroth grinned; staffs were _great_.

Yuffie dashed forward and threw her shuriken, the weapon slicing a leg before returning to her hand. She caught it expertly, and the dragon didn't like its new wound at all. He spotted Yuffie, and a clawed hand flashed down and grabbed her like there was nothing to it. She dropped her weapon in the struggle and screamed.

Vincent's head snapped up, and his eyes flashed with fury. Yuffie was not going to be carried away like a prize! He aimed and fired continuously, hitting the dragon in the neck and arm a few times. The dragon roared in pain, and lashed out at the cause. He didn't have time to move or even fall to the ground when the dragon's sapphire tail hit him square in the chest with spikes. Vincent was sent flying back, his chest bleeding. He collapsed, unable to move. He watched through hazy eyes as the dragon unfurled his wings and began to take air.

He closed his eyes miserably. "I couldn't protect you… forgive me Yuffie." He whispered, a tear falling down his face.

But there was one man that was strong enough to get her back… Sephiroth.

He picked up a medium sized rock, and successfully clunked the dragon on its head. The beast glared down at the man, and he grinned manically. "Hey you, ugly! Yeah, I'm talking to you buddy! Just you and me, all right? If I win, I get her back. If I lose, you get me AND her. Sound fair?"

Cloud was about to laugh at the general; everyone knew that dragons didn't reason, let alone understand anything. But then he felt extremely stupid when the dragon landed on the ground with a thud. Everyone back away as the general drew out his long katana, and Aerith went back to heal Vincent.

Everyone watched with baited breath, waiting for either the man or beast to make a move. Sephiroth launched himself off the ground with alarming speed, and slashed across the dragon's chest. He fell to the ground, avoiding the dragon's attempt to slice him into pieces. He jumped again and again, injuring the dragon to the point where the creature let Yuffie go. Sephiroth dropped to the ground, ran Yuffie out of the way, and delivered the final blow. The dragon fell to the ground, dead.

When the dragon ceased to move, Sephiroth sagged against his blade. He straightened up after a few seconds and walked back to the group with a grimace. "Is everyone all right?"

"Yeah, thanks to you!" Tifa said with a laugh.

Aerith smiled weakly, "Vincent's hurt, so we'll have to stop soon. But other than that, I think we're okay."

Sephiroth nodded, "It could be worse. Well… let's get Vincent up and moving and we'll at least get away from here. I don't want to find that dragon's mate." A roar came from behind them, and everyone turned around slowly. The general's face paled. "I guess we found her." He said quietly.

A pale blue dragon roared over the body of her mate, and fixed her murderous eyes on the group. Sephiroth wearily pulled his blade out of the ground and took his stance. They were going to get through this one, just like last time.

Vincent could hear them fighting, but he also knew that he couldn't help in anyway, which killed him. _'Planet… let no one be harmed…' _he prayed. When he heard a woman scream, all rational thought fled his mind. He hoped it wasn't Yuffie, but he knew that he had no way to tell… and that scared him.

_'Planet… help me! Help me fight! Please, don't take her away from us!'_ He prayed, and the Planet listened. He rolled over in pain, and felt two large wings erupt out of his back. He didn't stop to check what had happened to his body. He jumped up, took off, and flew headlong at the dragon.

Sephiroth heard beating wings, and his gaze flicked over his shoulder. His eyes widened as he yelled. "Watch out!"

A black form with wings, fangs bared in a snarl, flew towards them. Each clawed hand was out and supporting a fireball. He flew upward and launched fireball after fireball at the dragon. What was surprising was the fact that they worked. The dragon dropped her prize, which had been Aerith, and focused on the black form flying around and clawing every surface that it could reach. The dragon soon lost the battle from blood loss. With the threat gone, Sephiroth and Yuffie fled back to go find Vincent and get him away from this new threat… or a supposive one.

The winged creature landed hard on the ground on its feet, and straightened up. It shook its black wings free of blood, and paused. Everyone watched in horror at their savior. What _was_ it?

The creature turned around, and everyone gasped. The creature's entire skin was black and taunt, he was a force to be reckoned with. Horns grew out from its head, and fangs came out of his mouth. Its feet and hands were clawed, and two gigantic wings extended from its back. Eyes the color of crimson looked back at them, surveying them all.

This _couldn't_ be real.

"You're a demon!" Tifa screamed.

The said demon shuffled. "Then I take it that you've never seen one before."

"Wait…" Aerith said slowly, coming forward. When realization dawned on her, her dark green eyes widened. "You're Chaos!"

The demon's eyes showed some panic. "Ah… excuse me?"

"You're the demon Chaos!" Cloud cried, coming forward, "I'm sure of it! Yuffie told us a story about a demon named Chaos that had his curse broken! Wait… did she lie to us, because you're standing right here."

"She didn't lie to you…" Chaos said carefully, "At least, her story was true until a few minutes ago."

"What are we talking about?" Sephiroth asked, coming back to the group.

Yuffie looked panicked. "Vincent's missing!" she cried, grabbing onto Tifa's hand.

Chaos snorted, "Vincent Valentine isn't missing."

Yuffie's gray eyes widened in shock. "I know that voice…" she whispered, and turned around. A look of horror flashed over her face, but it was quickly replaced with one of joy. "You're all right!"

"What, did you not think that I could take care of myself?" Chaos said, eyes dancing. The ninja laughed and ran toward him. No one could stop her in time before she smacked into him and threw her arms around his neck.

The group watched in amazement as the demon wrapped his black arms around the ninja with a content sigh. Yuffie pulled away from Chaos' embrace but his hold on her remained firm.

"How did this happen?" she asked, eyes worried.

"I honestly have no idea. Perhaps my curse needs to be broken again?" the demon suggested with a grin.

Yuffie laughed and stood up on her tiptoes and placed a gentle kiss on the demon's leathery cheek. The group couldn't believe their eyes when they saw Chaos smile fondly down at her, and were even more amazed when he began to change.

His skin slowly faded to a pale white, and as his horns and fangs disappeared. Dark hair, dark as ebony grew and fell down to his shoulders, followed by a red bandana around his forehead. The wings faded, and a scarlet cape formed around his shoulders. His hands lost their claws, but his left forearm became a golden claw. Black clothes covered his body, and he opened his eyes to reveal the same old crimson.

Vincent Valentine flashed a rare smile, "Miss me?"

* * *

The group was drop dead shocked. They just starred at him for a while, and then started talking all at once. Sephiroth demanded to know the story, and he laughed when he heard it.

"You know, if you had told me that a few days ago, I wouldn't have believed you. But, I think I buy it now."

"Would it help if we showed you the mansion?" Yuffie asked.

The gunman blinked, "Why do you want to go back there?"

"Well… my paintings are still there and I didn't get all that I had stuffed in the closet." She said, kicking a rock out of her way.

He smiled, "I guess we could stop by the mansion. I don't see the harm."

Aerith and Tifa cheered, and Cloud chuckled. Sephiroth caught Vincent's gaze and held it. He inclined his head, and Vincent did as well.

They had both kept secrets, huge ones, from each other, and they knew that their friendship was back on its way to recovery.

* * *

A/N: ((giggle)) Vincent didn't seem like Vincent w/o Chaos back in the picture, sorry. But, yay! I updated soon! Yay! School starts in a few days, so I'm getting in all that I can.

**Tishannia  
Sabith  
saharasfury  
marajade963  
Maeve Forest Sage  
Empress-Eerian-Sadow  
Lord Makura  
Angel-Light-Girl  
KatoriTsubasa  
Noon6**

You guys are great... but let's see if I can get 200 reveiws from you guys... person who gives me the 200th one gets a chappie dedicated to them! XD

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_

P.S. And sorry this was so short... longer one coming up next, promise!

((Edited: 28.04.07))


	18. The Sketches

**Ninja and the Demon – Chapter 18**

_The Sketches

* * *

_

A few days later, the group made it to Nibelheim without much of a problem. Vincent only called upon Chaos once, and one was enough for everyone…

- - - -

"_Vincent, do something!" Tifa cried as the drake attacked again._

'_How did I summon Chaos last time?' He thought to himself for the eighth time in the last five minutes. 'Planet… please help us…' He prayed as Cloud stumbled. The drake caught him unaware and sent him fling back. Aerith tried to heal him, but had to dodge out of the way of the drake's incoming tail._

'_**The Planet all ready helped you once by giving me back to you Valentine. So, I think that you should be using me like the Planet intended you to do. Hey, that's a concept right there!'**__ The voice said sarcastically._

_Vincent was so startled by the voice he missed his shot. Yuffie shot him a second's glance to see what was wrong, and that was a fatal mistake. The drake's tail swept toward her once again and she didn't see it coming. _

'_**What are you waiting for Valentine? Transform damn it! Let me OUT!' **_

_The drake stopped attacking, and so did the fighters when they heard a beast roar in pain. Everyone turned to see what it was and were greeted with the sight of Vincent on his knees, holding his head tightly. His skin was paler than pale, his tall form trembling. Yuffie, who avoided being hit, slowly approached her love._

"_Vin-?"_

"_Stay back!" He cried, eyes screwed shut. But Yuffie wasn't about to be swayed. She was about to kneel next to him but he pushed her away roughly. "Stay… away from me!" He yelled savagely, his eyes flying wide open. Soon his pale skin began to turn black. Horns and fangs started to emerge while Vincent was struggling to get up on his feet. What chilled everyone to the bone was his scream of pain. His shoulder blades shifted, and he fell back down onto his knees. With a sickening crunch, two black, leathery wings slowly extended from his back in all of their creepy glory. After that, the kneeling figure was no longer the pale gunman that everyone knew. _

_It stood up and rolled its head up, the glowing amber eyes fixed on the drake with murderous intent. In less than a minute, nothing remained of the beast. Chaos landed softly on the blood soaked grass and walked away from the carnage, shaking the blood from his wings. He supported a nasty gash on his arm, but he didn't seem to notice as he walked toward the sickened, but awed group._

_The demon receded back into Vincent's mind when the grass turned back to green from it's crimson and the gunman stood before them, looking much worse than he had a few minutes ago. The gunslinger opened his eyes briefly before closing them as if in pain. He swayed on his feet, and Sephiroth darted forward to catch him before he fell to the ground. The general grunted at his weight; Vincent hanging onto consciousness._

"_Vincent?" The Sephiroth cried, worry entering his normally calm voice._

"_Thank… you…" Vincent gasped before he went out cold, a dead weight in the general's arms._

- - - -

After that, Yuffie forbade Vincent to transform into Chaos. He would have protested, but the look in her eye silenced him. Thankfully, the opportunity for Chaos to emerge again didn't come up.

Vincent led the tired group to the mansion after resting at the inn for the night. They went down the old road and he pushed open the creaky iron gate.

"That needs to be fixed." Tifa noted.

"The house needs more fixing than the gate." Vincent replied wryly as he led his friends up to the house.

Aerith and Tifa walked up the path first, and stopped to stare in awe. "Vincent…" Aerith breathed, "It's beautiful!"

The dark red brick had been worn down to a dull gray, though a few traces of the maroon still remained. The black, Victorian designed handrails were rusting, but that didn't mar its beauty in the slightest. The windows were dark and foreboding, threatening the group on the lawn with unpleasant nightmares. The steps were old and worn, creaking and threatening to break under a feather's weight. The door was a dark red, still as good as the day it was installed which was kind of creepy.

The trees hung low, covering the house from full view. The trees that still lived were majestic, their sagging branches not detracting from their presence in the least. The leaves were turning shades of golds, browns, and reds, the orange leaves all ready sprinkling over the grass. It decided that it wanted to be a part of the fall colors, for it was a light brown from lack of water.

Cloud whistled, "Man, just clean up the front lawn and you're all good to go Vince!"

Yuffie laughed, "Maybe, but the inside needs a lot more work than you think."

Sephiroth walked up to the front door and looked at the simple wood. He reached out a hand and slowly turned the doorknob, the door creaking on its hinges. As the door swung open, his jaw dropped. Yuffie scampered carelessly up the rickety steps to see inside. Her mouth popped open in astonishment as the both of them looked inside. Soon, everyone came up the steps to look inside.

Gone was the worn and dusty floors, gone were the numerous cobwebs; everything like that was gone. But what was there was the most beautiful mansion any of them had ever seen.

The wood was dark and polished, gleaming in the afternoon sun that filtered in through the door. The dark red carpet of the parlor and the runners extending up the stairs and down the hall were as bright and new as the day they were installed. The old but new golden light fixtures shone brightly, the bulbs dancing off of their shining surfaces. The golden metal had been carved into extremely ornate designs, every detail brought out by a craftsman's skilled hands.

"Whoa…" Tifa breathed. "Vincent… didn't you say that this place was a mess?"

The gunman was openly starring into his house. "It was!" He insisted, "It really was!"

"Maybe it returned to the way it originally looked before when the curse was broken?" Aerith suggested, stepping inside onto the rug.

"Sounds like a possibility." Sephiroth said, entering as well. He was about to step onto the red carpet, but Aerith grabbed his wrist.

"Sephiroth! Don't go inside with your boots on, you'll track all the dirt in!"

Vincent smiled, "It's all right Aerith. The carpet's dark, it'll hide the dirt." He told her as he entered his house with Yuffie holding his claw with both of her hands. Cloud and Tifa followed, stepping around Sephiroth and Aerith, walking down the hall and looking around in wonder. The general closed the door behind them and smiled. Now he felt a bit safer. Vincent led them upstairs and found that even the rooms had miraculously redone themselves. To Yuffie's delight, her room had not changed. The gunman smiled at her antics and left her room to show everyone else their rooms down the hall toward the secret attic.

Aerith was shown her room first, and Tifa was given hers next. With them situated and unpacking, Vincent led Cloud and Sephiroth further down the hall and pointed out their rooms.

"Now, I trust you two." He began, "But if you sneak up the hall and into either Aerith or Tifa's room, I'm patrolling the hallways at night."

Cloud snorted, "Very funny Vince."

Sephiroth smirked, "He's serious Cloud."

The swordsman looked up at Vincent, about to bust out laughing. "You're joking Vincent, I know you are."

"Sadly Cloud, I do not joke." Vincent replied, his crimson eyes solemn.

Sephiroth snickered at Cloud's expression. "Well, I'm going to unpack," he said, "And behave yourself Cloud!"

"Same goes for you too!" Cloud shot back at his friend's closed door.

Vincent managed to hide his smirk beneath the collar of his cape as he continued to walk down the hall. He soon came upon the small room that held the secret door to the attic. Here there was no carpet, but dark hardwood floors covered in numerous rugs. There was a loveseat against one wall with a potted plant next to it. But what captured the gunman's attention were the walls.

They were entirely covered in empty picture frames.

Vincent set his gab down next to the loveseat and quietly made his way back to the art studio. He entered without a sound and searched the back of the room. Finally, he found what he was looking for. It was Yuffie's finished painting of him, Chaos, and the rose. It was signed and dated in the bottom right corner, labeling it complete. He plucked it from its stand and went back to where he previously was.

He set the picture down and lifted a large frame off of the wall, opening the back. He grinned when the painting slipped inside without any trouble, and his eyes began to dance when he hung it back up on the wall. It fit like it was made to fit, but whether it was conscience or planned Vincent didn't know. He stepped back to admire it when he heard someone behind him.

"Whoa…"

Vincent spun around only to find Sephiroth starring openly at the painting. It was like the gunman wasn't even there. He chuckled and came to stand beside the general. "It's good, isn't it?"

"Who painted that?" Sephiroth whispered in awe.

The gunman grinned, pride shinning in his crimson orbs. "Yuffie."

"Seriously?" Sephiroth replied, still looking at the picture, "She's better than amazing."

"I'm with you on that one." Vincent replied.

* * *

**The Next Day**

The group agreed that the inside was fine, but the outside of the house needed work… and a lot of it. The girls were to work on the flowers while the guys dug up the two dead by the gate. Aerith had gone into town with Sephiroth to get the flowers and were back in an hour. Once everyone was back, the remodeling of the yard commenced.

- - - -

Yuffie patted the soil down around a small violet and glanced up at Tifa. "So, how's Cloud?"

"Huh?" She replied, stopping her work and looking up at the ninja in surprise.

Aerith giggled as she plucked a violet from its plastic container and put it in the hole that she had just dug. "Don't lie to us, we saw that kiss!"

Yuffie nodded as she dug another hole. "Yeah we sure – WHAT?" She cried, dropping the hand shovel. "He KISSED you?"

- - - -

Vincent chuckled as he pushed down on the shovel. "Now everyone's on the same page."

Cloud's face turned red, "She didn't notice?"

Sephiroth grinned, "Evidently not." He said, "But was she good?"

The blonde turned a darker shade of red, "Do you really think that I'm going to tell you?"

Conversation was cut off once the trio hauled the tree out of its hole. They proceeded to snap off the branches into smaller pieces so it would be easier to burn once they were done. But once they got to the trunk Cloud whipped out his buster sword to chop it to bits. He backed up, swung once, and cleaved through the entire trunk.

Sephiroth whistled, "Now that's a sword."

Vincent shook his head, "You mean a swing."

Cloud rolled his eyes, "Regardless of what it was, we still have another tree to go."

The general groaned, "This just… sucks!" He cried, taking off his sweaty shirt and set it down on the ground. "Remind me to never wear black while working out here again."

"Don't wear black." Vincent said dryly as Cloud whipped off his shirt as well. He had worn a gray one, and decided that he was going to keep his on. He wasn't that hot, and his friends were amazed. It was almost a hundred outside and Vincent was acting like it was sixty! The two shoved it to the side. If he wanted to fry, let him.

- - - -

Yuffie giggled at Tifa's shock. "Yeah… Cloud's got some muscles."

She nodded, "True, but I'm eyeing Sephiroth at the moment. Have you SEEN him?"

Yuffie gasped, "You're checking out other guys when you have Cloud?"

Tifa rolled her eyes, stopping her work to watch the three men. "I'm not eyeing him, I'm observing. There's a difference. Now Aerith is starring." She said, giving the flower girl a smirk.

The green eyed girl blushed. "I am not!" She retorted softly, watching the general. He reached up and grabbed a rather large, thick branch and grasped it firmly. The muscles of his back tightened as he pulled, and the branch snapped off cleanly. His muscles tightened again as he snapped the branch into smaller pieces. He threw them aside, and proceeded to do it again.

Yuffie giggled and snapped her fingers in front of Aerith' face. She jumped slightly, making her friends laugh. Sephiroth looked up at the sound and caught her gaze. He brushed his hair away to see her better. She blushed slightly and looked away, patting the soil down around the small bud.

Sephiroth looked away slowly, sadly grabbing and snapping off another branch.

* * *

After a while, about noon, Yuffie called a mandatory break. She pushed the guys onto the patio and demanded them to sit on the steps and asked Tifa and Aerith to come help her get everyone a glass of water. They came out a few minutes later with six glasses of ice-cold water and three towels for the guys, which they accepted gratefully. They downed the water in a flash and enjoyed the cool shade. Tifa demanded that they rest for a minute, and they didn't even try to protest.

Sephiroth sighed as he pulled his hair over his shoulder as to expose his neck. "I'm going to cute this," He stated solemnly, "It just keeps getting in my way."

"No, don't!" Aerith cried. When he looked at her oddly, she blushed. "Just tie it back." She suggested quietly.

"I would, but it just doesn't work." He explained, "My hair just falls over my shoulder, ensuring that it's going to get caught on something."

Aerith set her glass of water down and moved to sit behind the general on the steps. "Then braid it." She said simply, gathering the long silver strands into her delicate hands.

Sephiroth was about to protest, but her gentle movements soon quelled any objections that he had. The group was quiet, amazed at the sight of Aerith braiding Sephiroth's hair. When she was done, she finished it off with a black hair tie at the end. She patted his shoulder with a smile. "There."

He looked over his shoulder and smile back at her. "Thank you, Aerith." He said softly.

Vincent set his empty glass down next to Yuffie. "We'll stop in a bit, promise." He told her.

"Good." She replied.

He leaned up slightly and gave her a quick kiss before heading back out to the tree. Cloud's glass was taken up by Tifa and she gave him a kiss on the cheek before she took their glasses inside after Yuffie.

Now it was just Aerith and Sephiroth on the porch steps. She blushed when they made eye contact and looked down at her half finished glass of water. He looked down at it his just as Cloud called out to him to hurry up.

"You better get going." She said quietly, starring intently at the water in the glass.

He sighed sadly as he set his glass down. "Sadly enough." He agreed, "Hopefully the lawn will look as half as good as the garden does now."

Aerith smiled, "It's looking amazing. Just one more tree right?"

Sephiroth nodded. He knew that he should get back to work, but he would much rather stay here. "But you look much more beautiful than the garden and the lawn combined." He whispered, turning around slightly to brush a bit of dirt off of her cheek. He slowly leaned up to plant a soft kiss on her cheek.

Aerith blushed as she felt his lips against her skin. The sensation sent tingles down her spine, and a smile spread across her face. She met his gaze and a slow smile emerged upon his face as well.

"Sephiroth!" Vincent called, glaring at the two on the porch.

He winced and Aerith giggled. The general didn't say anything, knowing that it would ruin the moment. So he stood up, never looking away from her emerald eyes. He raised his hand to gently caress her cheek, his long fingers electric trails along her skin.

Before she knew it, she was watching him walked back out to the tree, his long and braided silver hair swinging with every stride. She touched her tingling cheek right where his hand had been and smiled faintly. Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing anymore-

"Hello… Planet to Aerith…" Yuffie said in a singsong voice, snapping her fingers in front of her face for the second time that day.

The flower girl jumped and her friends laughed. "Are we starring at a certain someone?" Tifa asked, grinning.

Aerith grinned back up at her. "Maybe."

The guys stopped in a few hours just like they promised. They each took a shower while the girls were making the sandwiches. They trooped downstairs and Vincent said to bring the food and drinks outside. At first they protested because they wanted to stay inside the cool house. But when Yuffie figured out where they were going, she picked up a basket and headed out the back door. The rest of the group followed seeing as she had run off with half of their lunch.

"Yuffie, come on!" Cloud cried as she chased after her through the overgrown garden maze. But he didn't notice that he farther he rain in, the more alive the garden became. When Yuffie reached the pond, Cloud stopped and gaped. Everyone was a few steps behind the swordsman and were soon starring with him in awe. Sephiroth caught himself from open displaying his amazement, but his eyes continued to roam over the area, drinking in the sights.

Vincent was mesmerized by beauty, but not of the garden.

Yuffie stood in front of the almost black water, breathing heavily, causing her shirt to stretch over her torso and accenting her cleavage very well. Her eyes were bright and dancing, her dark hair slightly windblown. Vincent had never before seen such a more lovely being. Now he wondered how long he could hang onto the gentleman act before he succumbed completely and began to beg for her.

He moved toward her stood behind her. He took the basket from her hand with his right and wrapped his claw around her frame and rested it possessively on her hipbone. She shivered at his touch but melted into him. He grinned, his insides stirring. He wasn't going to last long at all, not at this rate. The group laid down a blanket and began to eat lunch, talking avidly and laughing. If anyone noticed Yuffie and Vincent acting strangely, they said nothing.

Yuffie grabbed her lemonade and sandwich with a smile, settling herself down between Vincent's legs and leaning back against his chest. He was surprised at first, but soon adapted to the situation just fine and used it to his advantage. He finished his lunch quickly and wrapped his gold claw around her waist, drawing her even closer. When she was finished, he wrapped both arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder, closing his eyes with a content sigh.

Sephiroth smiled. "Well, I think Vince's tired, what do you think?" He asked, turning to look at Aerith.

She blushed from the sudden attention but nodded. "I think we're all a little tired." She said, covering a yawn.

Tifa stood up and started to gather everyone's dishes. "Well, Cloud and I will take these in, and the rest of today will be dedicated to relaxing. Sound good?"

"Amazing." Vincent said, eyes still closed.

The general smiled and stood up as well. "A book and a cool place to read sounds good as well." He held a hand down to Aerith, "Care to come inside?"

She smiled and allowed him to help her to her feet. "A nap sounds wonderful right about now." She said as he let go of her hand. He frowned; he had been hoping to talk to her some. However, he didn't say a thing as they carried an empty basket back to the mansion. Cloud and Tifa were ahead of them, Tifa carrying the basket. Cloud's arm was around her waist, and she rested her head on his shoulder as they walked back. Sephiroth felt a flash of envy that Cloud was so comfortable around Tifa, but then again, they were a couple. He switched the basket over to his left hand, preparing to reach out for Aerith' hand. But she beat him to it. He looked down at her in surprise when he felt a small hand slip into his. He met her gaze, her emerald eyes shinning. A slow and genuine smile crept over his lips as his hand closed down around hers.

* * *

Once they were alone, Yuffie moved to stand but Vincent's hold on her was like iron.

"Vinnie…" Yuffie whined, "I want to follow them!"

He shook his head, kissing her cheek. "No. I want to sit here with you… just like this." He whispered, her hair tickling his nose. She couldn't help but smile. She let him hold her like that for a while before she moved to lie down on her back to his right. Vincent looked down at her sadly; he had been enjoying that.

She giggled, "Aw, it's not the end of the world!"

"Yes it is." He said.

Yuffie let out a laugh at his response and patted the blanket. "Well, you can come down and join me." The gunman lied down next to her, dwarfing her by height. She sighed happily as she lifted her head and sat it on his chest. He gathered her into his arms, an unconscious smile on his lips. He had his whole world resting on his chest, and that was where it was going to stay.

The young ninja hadn't drawn in a while and the itch to do so was nagging at her. She imagined she was looking down at the scene and saw them in the form of a sketch very clearly. The case was settled; she wanted to draw. Yuffie let out a frustrated cry as she sat up. Vincent was jerked out of his semi-conscious state when he didn't feel her weight anymore. "Yuffie? Is something wrong?"

"I have to draw something." She said through gritted teeth, "If I don't, I'm going to burst."

Vincent smiled sadly and stood up. "All right, let's head inside."

* * *

Vincent sighed a he lay on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. Yuffie had left with her sketchbook to satisfy her artist's itch a few moments before.

This wasn't going to be easy. He knew what he wanted from his life, and that included Yuffie. He wanted a life with her, but that required her father's approval, which mean that they needed to go to Wutai. No, the chances of them marrying right now were slim. And not only did he want to get married… he wanted his love.

In every sense.

Vincent groaned and rubbed his face with his human hand. Something was going to give soon… it was just only a matter of what.

Yuffie giggled as she walked around outside, looking for anyone to draw. She knew that they wouldn't stay in position long, so she decided to draw from her imagination, but she wanted a scrap of reality in there. So, thus the reason she was stalking her friends.

Just as she had hoped, she found two of them together. Sephiroth and Aerith were sitting upon the porch under the setting sun, just talking. Yuffie grinned, jotted that down along with a few ideas when her brow furrowed. Wouldn't it be cool if she drew all of the couples? Deciding that was the best idea every, she finished her notes and went off in search of Cloud and Tifa.

It took a bit longer for her to find them, for they were in the parlor, where there was absolutely nowhere to hide and see them clearly. So, she listened at the door and made notes of what she thought was happening, which was only talking.

Then an idea popped into her head. She pulled out both sets of notes and made another note on both before heading back to Vincent's room. If she drew there, the secret would be blown… but she didn't want to be away from him any longer. He seemed sad when she left.

So, making another set of notes for another sketch, she closed her spiral and put it back in her room before heading back down to Vincent's room. Yuffie cracked open the door and Vincent looked up, his eyes brightening up a bit.

"Back all ready?"

"I changed my mind." She said, bouncing into bed next to him.

He smiled down at her, wrapping his left arm around her body and drawing her down to him. "Good to hear. Though I was hoping to see more of your talent in a few days."

Yuffie smiled against his chest. "Don't worry, I'll draw. You'll see some pretty good sketches… I've got this really good feeling."

* * *

A/N: Yell at me all you want for not updating for a MONTH and then giving you THIS crappy chapter. I SWEAR to you before every power that the next chapter is MUCH better. XD It's much, _much_, **much** better. I love it. ((lol)) A little fluff, and we have no idea what Yuffie's doing with those sketches... O.o Oh dear. But I know. I _love_ writing...

And I realized that I said I would dedicate a chapter to the 200th reviewer... but I don't know who that is... so um... yeah.

This chapter is dedicated to ALL OF THE BELOW!

**Sabith  
Chaos'babe  
line-chan  
Lord Makura  
Just Jill  
The Red Hawk  
Superactiveuberfreak  
RoyalFanatic  
KatoriTsubasa  
SakuraAkiko  
readergirl-290  
Tishannia  
Empress-Eerian-Sadow  
chaotic pink chocobo  
sockpudding  
Noon6  
fearsomdiety  
otaku dreamer  
Maeve Forest Sage  
TOWTWUKER  
Artemis-chan of Redwing**

You guys are so great, this is all for you, and so is the next chapter! XD

**Superactiveuberfreak** - Don't worry, I will try to not ruin this story. However, the next chapter gets really fluffy, so hopefully I don't don't ruin it for everyone. And I have a twist coming up ((laughs eviliy)) I think that it's a rather beautiful twist, and I can't wait to use it. XD And you're all going, "Oh come ON! Things just got back to normal!" My response: "I know." XD

**RoyalFanatic** - Hopefully I will make you a Yuffentine _freak_ before this is over. XD More people need to go this way, it's just so much better than - wait, I'm not going to say it because I bet we have fans of other Vincent pairings in the crowd. ((lol))

**SakuraAkiko **- Yay! XD We like relaxed Vincent. Yipee! Vinnie becomes more relaxed... well... sort of in the next chapter. Ahaha! And you don't know what it is! ((dances)) I love my job.

**otaku dreamer **- O.o Wow. Well, I hope this chapter didn't disappoint! And get some sleep! ((lol))

**sockpudding** - ((blushes)) Well... I'm not sure if it's the best out there, but I know it doesn't suck... ((lol)) Thanks for reading, I really do like the compliments. And I don't let them go to my head, which is good for all of you otherwise I would never update... or something like that. XD

O.o God that's a long list. XD Long list make me happy. ((lol))

I love you all, and I hope I haven't lost any of you!

_-Vincen'ts Angel of Chaos_

P.S. I've been wanting to type an AN for so long... YAY! XD

((Edited: 28.04.07))


	19. It's Your Love

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 19**

_It's Your Love

* * *

_

Tifa plopped down on the couch in the parlor with a cry of happiness. "We're finally done!" She cried.

Aerith laughed, "We did a pretty good job; only took us a week."

Yuffie sat down next to Tifa with a groan. "A week of pure torture was what it was!"

Vincent, Cloud, and Sephiroth came in behind the girls, and the gunman chuckled. "Well, you weren't the one planting the trees now were you?" He asked with a grin, sweat soaked shirt slung over his shoulder, arms crossed. His gold claw danced in the sunlight pouring through the newly washed window, sending sunbursts all over the walls.

For the first time, Vincent actually had no shirt on in public. And this also was only the second time Yuffie had seen him without one, but the first one didn't really count in her opinion. She had been to embarrassed to look at him because he just returned as a human, and thinking about him like that still creeped her out at the time. But now she fully enjoyed it… really. In her opinion, he was drop dead sexy.

So the fact that he was shirtless was not helping her in the slightest bit. Sephiroth chuckled; tossing his heavy braid that Aerith had done for him over his shoulder. "Vince… I think you should put your shirt back on. Someone's starring…"

The gunman's mouth curved into a grin and he opened his arms wide to the ninja. "Like? Regardless, I haven't gotten a hug today."

Yuffie beamed, bouncing up off the couch and ran over to give him a hug. She threw her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. The fact that she was hugging bare skin drove her crazy; she could feel every place that their skin touched.

Poor Vincent.

Her chest was plastered against his, so he could feel exactly how… gifted she was in that particular area. She wore only a thin tank top, which made it even worse. It took all of Vincent's willpower to not shiver is delight, or drag her out of the room. She let him go with a smile, completely unaware of what she was doing to him. Tifa got the vibe that there was a lot of tension between the couples so she spoke up.

"Come on, I'll beat you to the shower!" she taunted, jumping off the couch and bolting for the door, Aerith on her heels.

Yuffie's gray eyes narrowed, and she shot out after her friends. "Hey wait! I want a shower too!"

As three sets of feet pounded up the stairs, Sephiroth came up to place a hand on Vincent's shoulder. "Are you going to make it?" He asked.

The gunman let out something between a snort and a sigh. "No."

Cloud winced. "It's been tough huh?"

"Tough is a supreme understatement." He growled, "She's been driving me nuts for weeks. But I will respect the title she holds and will bring her pure back home unless she gives me permission." With that said, Vincent left the room in silence.

Sephiroth caught Cloud's gaze and they both nodded. Something needed to happen before either of them lost it.

* * *

"No!" Aerith cried, pleading, "Please!"

But her cries fell upon deaf ears as Tifa and Yuffie pulled her out the backdoor toward the garden. "Hush!" The bar hostess hissed, "You'll wake them up!"

"And then they'll come running out here, demanding to know what's wrong!" Yuffie added, "We'll explain and then they'll _help_ us get you out there!" Aerith stopped to think about that for a split second and her friends took the opportunity to haul her away from the house.

"Guys! Please!"

* * *

Sephiroth cocked his head to the side and listened intently. "Did you hear that?" He asked, turning his head to look at Cloud.

The blonde nodded, "I did… but I have no idea what it was."

"It sounded like Aerith…" The general said, the thought trailing off.

"It was." Vincent said, opening the door and leaning against the doorframe. "Yuffie and Tifa have her and are taking her out back to the garden."

Sephirtoh blinked. "What?"

The gunman responded with throwing each of them a towel. Strangely, he carried a very large blanket – two in fact. "Gentleman, what's in the garden?"

Cloud blinked this time, "A pond…"

"And what could they possibly be doing out there?" Vincent continued, eyes beginning to sparkle.

Sephiroth grinned. "Skinny dipping."

* * *

"Aerith, come on!" Tifa called from the water. The flower girl sighed in defeat and let her towel fall and she was in the water in less than a second.

She gasped, "It's freezing!" She cried, her hands clinging to her upper arms in attempts to warm herself. Yuffie however, stood on the bank with her bare feet planted firmly in the grass and clutching her towel around her in a death grip. Aerith turned to look back at her and usually kind emerald eyes narrowed. "If you don't get in there, I'm going to come up there and throw you in."

The ninja pouted but soon gave in and dived in. Aerith hadn't been kidding about the frigid water. The girls laugh and talked for a while before a splash war ensued.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sounds of female laughter urged the men on as they crept toward the pond. Vincent had been feeling very confident, but now that they were actually here it fled. So, Cloud stepped forward instead. "Aw, are you girls having fun and you didn't even bother to invite poor us!"

They spun around to look at him, making sure they were hidden beneath the water and each wearing their own expressions. Yuffie looked startled but hid it pretty well. She look as if she was going to bust out laughing if anything else. Aerith was easily shocked and embarrassed, and Tifa was giving Cloud a pretty good death glare by everyone's standards.

"What are you doing here Cloud Strife?" She demanded; her arms crossed over her chest underwater.

"I'm sorry, was this girl's only?" The general asked, coming forward. Aerith looked at him like a chocobo in the headlights and he began to feel a little guilty about this. They weren't exactly this close yet…

Yufife squealed. "Is Vincent with you?"

When he stepped forward into the moonlight, she giggled, blushing. Fantastic. Tifa rolled her eyes, unable to stop the smile on her lips from forming. "Oh you've brought Vincent… **that** changes everything."

The ninja crossed her arms, "It does not!"

Tifa laughed in response. "Sure hun, say what you want but I know you too well!" Turning back to face the men, she beckoned to them. "I guess you've been approved – come on in."

Cloud let out a whoop of joy, shredded his clothes in record time next to his abandoned towel and jumped into the dark water. Tifa went crimson, but all the girls laughed when he resurfaced. His face was completely priceless; glowing blue eyes were wide in shock, his mouth making a perfect "o". "It's **FREEZING**!" He shouted, hopping around in place. "I'm freezing in places that **don't** like to be freezed!"

Sephiroth double over in laughter and Vincent let out a deep and genuine laugh. Yuffie smiled – she rarely heard that laugh even now. She prayed that Cloud would do something else that was completely brainless so she might be able to hear that laugh again…

"Oh now I'm not sure if I want to get in!" The gunman laughed, watching Cloud hop around.

Yuffie's laughing eyes turned hard, giving her love a glare. "Oh you are SO getting in this pond! I will come out and drag you in myself if I have to!"

The gunman stopped breathing for a second. He would very much like to see that, but knew the flimsy barrier of self control he had put up would shatter in a nanosecond. Not to mention he would have a heck of a time trying to keep it in place one he was actually in the water. He took in a much-needed breath. "I'm coming Yuffie." He said, walking to his right into the trees, much to Yuffie's disappointment.

Vincent first hung one of the large blankets on a low branch and took the second, shook it out, and laid it down on the sparse grass underneath a weeping willow. Thinking twice, he placed both towels on the branch and went around to look for the picnic blanket that he had stashed out here for regular picnics. Finding it and taking it back to the willow, he laid that under the drooping branches. He then placed the two blankets off to the side before unbuckling the collar of his coat. He hung that on the branch, and soon all of his clothes were laid next to the trunk of the tree. He quickly pulled his hair out of shinning red eyes and slipped into the water. He heard Sephiroth yelp a few yards away to his left; he must have gotten in too fast. Vincent himself let out a low hiss as he got in; it really was cold. The stones beneath his feet were covered in slime, squishy beneath his bare feet. There was no telling what was in this water, but the gunman wasn't really worrying about it at this point. He swam out from behind the shelter of trees and stopped when he reached the group. Walking up behind Yuffie, he wrapped his golden claw around her bare waist and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Hello…"

"AAHH!" She cried, jumping in his hold. Vincent grinned; he could feel her cold yet burning body against his and he knew he was going to loose it before the end of the night. Cloud laughed, "Well, now what?"

Tifa rolled her eyes at the blonde. "So you get in but you didn't know what to do once you actually did get in?"

The general shook his head, silver hair dancing in the moonlight. "That's Cloud for you."

The blonde swordsman glared at the general, "Well thanks. I was about to suggest chicken wars."

The bar hostess grinned. "All right!"

Aerith froze. She didn't want to say no to the idea, but she wasn't exactly sure if she wanted to do it, especially with Sephiroth present. The general sensed her discomfort and met her gaze as Yuffie convinced (like it would be hard) to join in, Tifa trying to get on Cloud's shoulders.

"You do not have to do it if you not wish to." He said softly.

Aerith was touched, but she shook her head. "I'm not going to let Tifa beat me."

Sephiroth gave a slight start, not expecting her to agree to this. "All right then." He said, grabbing Cloud's attention. "You're up against us first!"

Tifa gapped. "You and Aerith?"

"Who else?" The flower girl giggled.

Sephrioth came a few steps nearer, bending his knees as if he was going to kneel. The dark water rose from his waist to his chest, his long silver hair floating on top of the dark water like ribbons of moonlight. "Step onto my left leg with your left foot and climb up, all right?" When she blushed, he chuckled. "I know I am not strong enough to lift you up on my shoulder, and I absolutely refuse to submerge myself in this water."

Aerith smiled, understanding now. She placed her foot on his bare thigh and nearly gasped. Electric shocks seemed to run over her skin and she couldn't stop the shiver. Sephiroth held up his hands beside his head and Aerith placed hers within them. They slowly closed around hers but he soon found them closed around air. She had removed her foot and was standing behind him, putting his hair into a makeshift bun at the base of his neck. "I don't want to pull any of it out or something like that…" She said softly, and he turned his head back to smile at her.

"You're a sweetheart." He whispered, and she blushed. In a few seconds she was up on his shoulders and she shifted her weight so she was comfortable. Sephiroth let her fidget around until she was fine and squeezed her hands. "Do not worry," He said in a hushed tone, "You're safe with me… I won't let you fall."

She nodded as he stood up completely and faced Cloud. He dropped her hands and placed them supportively on her thighs, and her skin tingled yet again. She shivered at his touch, unused to the feelings that it brought. He felt her shiver, sending one of his own down his spine and causing his stomach to do a flip. Her skin was wet and smooth, but only slightly chilled from the water. It took all of his will power to not run his thumb across her skin, reveling in the softness. "All right Cloud, are you ready?" He asked the blonde with a grin.

He grinned back, "Bring it on."

They took a step toward each other and Aerith and Tifa locked hands. The wine-eyed beauty was stronger, her muscles outlined in the moonlight that was reflected up off of the dark water. They both had great figures, but Cloud and Sephiroth were in no position to be looking and appreciate. The general would never do such a thing, but the swordsman would. Cloud was more of a peek-then-run kind of guy though.

Aerith was slowly loosing to Tifa's strength, and Sephiroth knew that they had to do something. He noticed Cloud was putting the majority of his weight upon his right foot. The general grinned and squeezed Aerith' left thigh. She was so surprised his touch she jerked that way, sending Tifa into the water. She was so shocked at first, but was soon cheering. Sephiroth laughed, feeling slightly bad about startling her like that.

The flower girl grabbed one of his hands and squeezed it. "It's okay." She murmured.

Sephiroth didn't have time to respond as Yuffie and Vincent got ready. She stood directly behind him and he submerged beneath the water. She climbed onto his shoulder and gripped his hand and claw tightly, letting him know she was on. He came back up with a rush of water, small droplets running down his pale form and face, causing some ebony strands to stick to his cheeks, which Yuffie brushed away with a smile. She sat firmly atop his shoulders, and Vincent was highly aware of how toned she actually was. After all, he had two wonderful reminders right next to his head.

Aerith and Yuffie immediately began the fight, forcing Vincent to focus. Aerith seemed like she was the stronger of the two because of size, but Vincent knew where the real power lied. Within seconds the flower girl was in the water, taking Sephiroth with her. Tifa laughed and made a comment about heading back inside. Cloud agreed; he was getting a bit chilly himself. The pair departed and the bar hostess accused the blonde of peaking. Cloud retorted with a witty comment, giving him a good whack. He didn't mind much; he got his peak.

Leaving Yuffie and Vincent to splashing each other, Sephiroth swam off in one direction and Aerith left the laughing couple to follow him. She found him sitting on a half submerged rock, his waist down covered by the dark water. He heard the water sloshing as she swam toward him, and he looked up. "Something wrong?" He asked, offering her a smile.

Aerith replied without thinking. "Yes. You're entirely confusing."

He blinked, somewhat startled by her bluntness and confused about what she had actually said. "I'm your problem?" He repeated after a moment's pause.

"Yes you are." She replied, moving closer to stand right in front of him, the water only barely covering the top of her chest. But Sephiroth's gaze never lowered – it was locked upon hers.

"And what makes me a problem?"

"Just you in general. You're feelings mainly. I'm just running around in the dark."

Sephiroth thought for a minute. "So you do not know where I stand in your life?" When she didn't respond, he rephrased his question. "Where do you want me to stand in your life?" When he received only nervous shifting, he knew he hit gold. A slow smile crept over his lips. "Since you will not tell me, I'll tell you where I want to be." His hands reached out slowly to grab her shoulders and drag her closer, and he slid off the rock, the water making a few ripples as the water settled around his waist once again. Moving her even closer he tilted her head up as he leaned down, his free hand slipping under the water to wrap around her cold frame. She raised her hands to his shoulders as their lips met, and she closed the distance between them almost instantly. He shivered when skin met skin, but he did not let his hands move from their original spots. With his right arm firmly around her, his left hand cupped the back of her head, playing with the wet strands of her hair. She startled him a bit when she reached up behind his head and undid his bun, and he smiled against her lips. Long, silver locks slapped against his back, heavy with water. A few locks slipped forward to create a scraggily screen between them and the world. But while his hands did not wander, her hands did. Sephiroth was finding it increasingly distracting as small hands were touching his face, shoulders, and chest and he couldn't retaliate. Well, he could, but he refused. Startling her wasn't fun for him, and it probably never would be.

After a while, they stopped and he pulled back slowly, hovering mere centimeters from her lips. He leaned his forehead against hers, eyes closed and his insides melting. This was right where he wanted to be. The general moved his head a bit to whisper in her ear, "We better head inside before we both catch our death out here."

* * *

Vincent and Yuffie had moved on from their splash war to a kind of tag when they saw Sephiroth and Aerith head back to the house, towels in hand and the essential clothes on. The flower girl shivered and the general dropped her hand, which he had been holding, and wrapped it securely around her waist, drawing her into the warmth in his chest. The ninja squealed in delight, pointing them out to Vincent. "Vinnie, look! They're finally together!"

The gunman looked back over his shoulder and grinned. "So they are." He observed. While he was happy for them, they were not the biggest thing on his mind. Now his thoughts went something along the lines of something that should be kept quiet, and thank goodness they were.

"Vinnie?" The ninja asked, waving her hand in front of his face. "What's with the grin?"

He looked down at her, his crimson eyes dancing with something Yuffie had seen only once before. "Nothing." He said simply, "Are you a bit cold?"

Yuffie tilted her head to the side in thought, the beads of water on her neck running down, winking in the moonlight. She looked amazing just _standing_ there. "Not really, are you?"

"Absolutely not." He said with a grin, moving to place his hand and claw on her hips. Her skin tingled at his touch and she reached her hands up to wrap them around his neck. "Is that so?" She replied in question, stepping closer and sliding her leg in between his to drive him insane.

Apparently she all ready had done that.

Gray eyes went wide and crimson bore into them. "You are in control Yuffie." The gunman whispered in a low rumble. She looked at him nervously, knowing fully well that she had zero experience beyond kissing. Heck, she didn't have a lot of knowledge in that department either. "I will wait for you as long as you ask me to." He added, his crimson eyes reflecting the honesty in his words.

Yuffie melted, resting her head against his chest. "Please… be gentle…"

A faint flicker of hope appeared in his eyes. "Yuffie… you know that I have done this before… right?"

She nodded, knowing fully well that he did. She never heard it from him, but she assumed as much. But she was glad that he told her. "I know that you'll be careful."

The smile that Vincent hid in her hair was one of pure joy, lighting up his crimson eyes. He tilted her chin back at met her gaze, hers shinning as well.

_Dancin' in the dark  
__Middle of the night  
__Takin' your heart  
__And holdin' it tight  
__Emotional touch,  
__Touchin' my skin  
__And askin' you to do  
__What you've been doin' all over again_

His eyes never left hers as he leaned down. He closed his eyes at the last second, and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

Every kiss seemed to lead up to this one, for Yuffie would remember this kiss until the day she died and beyond. Her hands slid down to rest upon his chest as she stood up on her tiptoes. He chuckled, picking her up by her hips and hauling her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist. She shivered in the cold air, and the gunman hugged her even tighter. Vincent was driven by the passion that he had felt earlier. Now he wanted to make this as amazing and painless for her as he could. Even if he had to wait to take it the way he wanted. He rested his heavy metal claw against her back as the other held her up. He began to move back toward the bank, Yuffie leaning down to kiss him yet again.

_Oh, it's a beautiful thing  
__Don't think I can keep it all in  
__I just gotta let you know  
__What it is that won't let me go_

_It's your love  
__It just does somethin' to me  
__It sends a shock right through me  
__I can't get enough  
__And if you wonder  
__About the spell I'm under  
__Oh, it's your love_

He walked out of the water, the cold hair hitting his skin and making her shiver yet again. He grit his teeth, realizing just how cold it actually was. Laying her down gently upon the picnic blanket under the willow tree, he pulled up so he could fully see her.

Her cheeks were bright, and the water droplets were sliding off of her face, and her pale form shuddered in the constant breeze. Vincent swore that there was nothing more beautiful than this moment as he leaned down to kiss her again. He reached up and shook out a blanket with one hand, pulling it over their forms. She frowned in confusion, but he just hushed her, his hand drifting down her body. "I'm just trying to make this less painful…" He whispered as a metal digit slipped inside her.

_Better than I was  
__More than I am  
__And all of this happened  
__By takin' your hand  
__And who I am now_  
_Is who I wanted to be  
__And now that we're together  
__I'm stronger than ever  
__I'm happy and free_

Yuffie saw stars. Gripping his shoulders as he moved to hover over, she gasped at the sensation. What was going on? When his finger left, she nearly cried out at him. What was he doing?

The air suddenly became tense and Yuffie slowly opened her eyes. Vincent looked down at her, his crimson eyes dancing with desire and she shuddered. He closed his eyes and stayed like that for a minute before he opened them again. They were a bit calmer now, but not by much. But it warmed her heart – he really was trying.

"Yuffie…"

She blinked a few times, letting out shaky breath. "I'm fine."

"This is going to hurt."

"… I know."

_Oh, it's a beautiful thing  
__Don't think I can keep it all in  
__And if you asked me why I've changed  
__All I gotta do is say your sweet name_

_It's your love  
__It just does somethin' to me  
__It sends a shock right through me  
__I can't get enough  
__And if you wonder  
__About the spell I'm under  
__Oh, it's your love_

The gunman slipped inside, and his heart nearly broke at the pain on her face. His human hand reached up to caress her cheek as he let her adjust. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

Yuffie kept her eyes closed, used to the new feeling. This was definitely weird. After a few moments she was fine, and her body was raring to go, and so was her heart. Vincent was an unmovable statue, resisting his instincts and waiting for her. She let him know by bucking her hips and his eyes flew open in surprise, his eyes almost rolling back into his head.

"Oh don't do that."

"Why not?"

A silence enveloped them and the gunman opened his eyes, the fire in them dancing mischievously. "Because I'm in control."

_Oh, it's a beautiful thing  
__Don't think I can keep it all in  
__I just gotta let you know  
__What it is that won't let me go_

Yuffie never dreamed of feeling anything like this in her lifetime, and never dreamed that it would feel like _this_. He was surprisingly gentle, and once the pain vanished it felt like heaven. She was rather loud, but with them being in the garden no one heard them in the house. Neither would have cared if the entire world had heard them. All that mattered was this very moment… nothing else.

When Vincent came, he fell to the ground beside her, exhausted but happy. He looked over at her and smiled, brushing a lock of hair out of her face. She looked up at him and kissed his hand, her eyes tired. He leaned down to brush his lips against her forehead. "I love you Yuffie."

"I… love you… too…" She replied sleepily.

His own eyes were drooping and he scooted down further on the blanket so their heads were level. She surprised him when she lifted his head and slid underneath him, putting his head back down on her bare chest. He smiled, wrapping his claw securely around her and closed his eyes, listening to her heartbeat as it lulled him to sleep.

_It's your love_

The pond was a silent beauty that did not disturb the new lovers. The waters gleamed under the moonlight and the willows created interesting patterns of light and shadow upon the green grass. Flowers seemed to bloom even more under the white light, and their fragrances floated on the breeze, bringing their smells of happiness and love all over the pond.

A long lost memory walked to the pond, her pale brown hair gleaming in the moonlight. High-heeled shoes did not get stuck inside the soft earth seeing as the memory seemed to glide over the grass, it billowing in her wake as if in a wind. Light blue eyes scanned the area and found a set of clothes and a towel belonging to a certain someone. Smiling, the memory walked into the trees, looking around for her objective.

She found the lovers in each other's arms, immune to the cold wind that was picking up. Ebony hair danced in their faces, and their faces were calm yet flushed. The woman shivered and the man unconsciously drew her closer. The memory smiled – she'd been there in his arms before. But there was no way that he was as happy as he was now. She picked up both large blankets and laid them over the sleeping couple. The memory couldn't help but brush ebony hair out of their faces, gazing fondly down at the pale face of the man she loved but was unable to be with.

His eyes fluttered open, and her heart caught when saw his emerald eyes gone only to be replaced with crimson. He blinked a few times, not believing the apparation in front of him. She put a cold and misty finger on his lips to hush him, her light blue eyes dancing. The wind blew, and he heard her voice though her lips did not move:

"_Be happy."_

His eyes drifted closed, and his lips moved against her finger.

"I am."

She smiled, the wind whipping by again.

"_Good. Now… goodbye."_

The gunman buried his head in the ninja's… his ninja's shoulder, moving up so he could cradle her against his chest protectively. He let out a long breath, causing her to stir, but she did not awaken. The memory smiled fondly, her hands clasped at her chest as she faded.

**_It's your love_**

**_

* * *

_**

A/N: I give you all every right to kill me - seriously, I do. Not updating in so long is SOO unlike me it's not even funny. So, like I said in Don't Look Back, I'm not going to give you some excuse as why I didn't update sooner because I really don't have any. So, I'm not going to make one up. I promise I will try to be better about this, and I'll probably get MUCH better when fall break rolls around. Highschool's a killer - ugh.

I started writing fan fiction last year, and I've really noticed myself grow... a lot. So I branched out a bit and got a lot more... in depth with the... "mushy" scenes than I normally would have done. I really hope that I didn't do a bad job, and I pray that I haven't lost you yet, or if I just did with the bad chapter... ((sighs)) I highly doubt that I'll ever do lemons, but I might get a little more confident about writing that kind of stuff. It sounds bad, but I hope I do. I hate barriers that I can't overcome. However, I've accepted that I can't write and can't understand poetry. It's just the way that it worked out.

I went through this and ACTUALLY read it over and checked it MYSELF. ((gasp)) Shocker, I know. I usually do that... um... yeah, never. ((lol)) I actually have the first part edited, and one of these days I'm going to revise the ENTIRE thing. Yeah - that'll take a while.

The song, as you probably know, is "It's Your Love" by Tim McGraw with Faith Hill. I just thought it fit PERFECTLY so I had to put it in somewhere. XD

And you probably all know what memory that was, but I would still like to think whom you thought it was... I didn't try to disguise it or anything so it should be really easy, but ya' never know. ((lol))

Well... I hope you suck with me for this one, and I hoped you like all of the fluff! Though I think it's more... mature than fluff... O.o But whatever. It's 10:30 and I'm so not thinking straight. I'm also listening to Christmas music, so that should give you a pretty good clue... ((lol)) You know... the Trans Siberian Orchestra is REALLY good... XD

You are all so fantastic that this chapter is dedicated to EVERYONE that reviewed last chapter!

**_readergirl-290  
line - chan  
RoyalFanatic  
SakuraAkiko  
Shida San  
Chaos'babe  
otaku dreamer  
Silvan Arrow  
Lord Makura  
TOWTWUKER  
Noon6  
redlei  
Just Jill  
mikkimikka  
Rena  
thunder sister  
pyro-witch2  
Riku54-Vincent's Demon  
DemonSurfer  
UnrequitedxLove  
Tishannia  
My Harlequin Romance  
Thunderstorm101_**

((stares in shock)) Oh my... whoa... ((cries)) I honestly don't understand what you all are liking, but I'll keep it coming for you. You all make this so much fun... I'm doing this for you guys, remember that, 'kay? ((wipes tears)) You guys have no idea how great you are - really.

**_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_**

((Edited: 05.05.07))


	20. Heartbreaking Departure

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 20**

_Heartbreaking Departure

* * *

_

The fire cackled with a somber and hushed tone as one traveler starred at it blankly. The rest of his party was asleep, peaceful and silent despite the calamity of the situation that had fallen upon them this morning. Unknown to the man, one more of the group was awake, and clouded crimson eyes looked up into glowing green ones.

"Do you think she will be fine?" The gunman asked.

"You know her better than I do."

He looked back down at the dancing flames, the light of them not reaching his cold eyes. "I do not know." He whispered; but whether it was to answer the question or response, the general was unsure.

"Do not worry, Vincent." Sephiroth whispered back over the flames, his long hair looking like ribbons of fire. "You know that she is strong."

Vincent sighed. "That is what worries me. She will not tell me what she feels all the time… she does not even show her sadness to anyone."

The general shook his head, orange tinted silk falling into his pale face. "Talk to her, comfort her. You're good at that." He added with a small smile, "You don't even have to say anything. Just stay with her."

Vincent stood without a word, looking at Yuffie's tent. He knew that she wasn't in there – she never went in. He left the fireside, leaving Sephiroth alone on his watch.

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Making his way through the forest, Vincent found a crouched form by the lake and slowly walked toward it. "Yuffie." He said softly, sitting down gracefully beside her.

She leaned her head on his shoulder without a word, closing her tired eyes. He wrapped his claw around her waist just as silently, reaching his free hand up to play with a lock of stray hair. Only the crickets chirped for a few minutes, and the pale moonlight lit the lake like a heavenly ocean.

Just like last night.

Except the mood of that night was missing – almost like it could never be found again. The new received this morning ensured its absence.

Godo had decided that he was done playing around and sent an envoy out with a summons "requesting" their presence in Wutai. Yuffie and Vincent knew that they couldn't run forever; it was time to face their fate. The group was heading to Rocket Town so Cid could fly them the rest of the way. They would arrive the next morning, but Vincent wasn't ready. He would pay any price to stall time, just let them be before they were ripped apart. He wanted to let her know just how deep his feelings ran, but knew that there was no amount of time in the world that would allow that. The gunman's thoughts were interrupted by a soft and shaky voice.

"Vincent… I'm scared."

He wordlessly hugged her to his chest and rubbed her back. She clung to his scarlet cloak and buried herself in it as she began to cry.

"What… what's waiting for me? Us? You? Vince, if he ever found out-"

"He won't." He said firmly, referring to last night. "Nothing is going to happen to you, I promise." She nodded against his chest, content with his answer. Vincent held her as a feeling of dread overcame him. She would probably make it through… but what about him? Who knew what awaited them in Wutai…

* * *

Yuffie covered her mouth in shock as the group walked down the stone road of Wutai. The place was dark and grungy, and the sense of unrest hung in the air like a persistent stench. Haunted and desperate faces watched them pass by, envious of the life they wore on their shoulders. Vincent had never before felt such hostility from a group of people, even as a Turk. Aerith clung to Sephiroth and he put an arm around her waist without even thinking, his own nerves frazzled by the hatred coming from the natives. The gesture was almost taunting the men of the crowd to come and try to take her away. Tifa walked close to Cloud, hoping for some comfort… but none came. His glowing blue eyes were fixed upon the couple in front of the, almost as if he wanted to burn the arm around Aerith's waist.

Vincent did not reach out to Yuffie either, knowing that nothing that he could ever think of doing could ever block out the horrible and heartbreaking truth before her.

Her proud Wutai was now in shambles, and on the brink of a civil war.

The group came upon the pagoda, the largest one, and all of them were stripped of their weapons instantly. They were ushered inside, almost as if the guards were afraid to leave them out in the streets for too long. The group was admitted into a very lavishly decorated room, and it was almost pitiful. It was obvious that this room was no better than the sights outside, but there had been attempts to restore the inside to its natural glory. But one cannot change the inside when the outside refuses to change.

In the middle of the room sat Yuffie's father. He looked every inch of a dying ruler. His once fine and ornate clothes hung like sacks on his wasted body. His once stern and unforgiving eyes were now like sunken pits, dark and foreboding.

"Yuffie, come forward."

The crackly voice was obeyed and she came to kneel before him. The Lord of Wutai looked upon his only daughter and opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it.

"Godo, I know whom I wish to marry, and I seek your approval."

"You do not have it." He said sharply, his voice sounding like the crack of a whip despite it's wheezy sound. "You will only receive my blessing when you marry the man chosen for you."

"Godo! Listen to me! The man I bring before you is so much more than any man you could have-"

"I refuse to hear this!" Godo roared, "The only man that I would ever consider worthy of you is long dead!"

The room fell into a hushed silence. His chest was heaving from his rant, and he continued on in a more controlled voice.

"You saw what remains of Wutai, Yuffie – absolutely nothing. I've grown old, and the other clans want to see me gone, see someone young on the throne. They're so determined that they'll even revolt and put one of their own candidates where I sit. You, Yuffie, are my only hope of keeping Wutai alive. If you stay here, wed, and raise a family… Wutai will be a safe place again, and the Kisaragi family line will live on through you."

"If all I have to do is wed-"

Godo raised his hand, ""But it's so much more than that. Yuffie, you can't just marry anyone, you have to marry someone that will benefit our situation. By marrying the man I have selected for you, we form a pact between the Kisaragi and our rivals, the Zhin, and insure that nothing will happen to Wutai." Yuffie's face paled when she heard her betrothed's clan, and immediately opened her mouth to protest, but her father cut her off. "You are to be wed at the end of the week as planned, and there is nothing that we can do about it. Please… if not for me, do it for your people…"

Vincent could see the conflict occurring in his love's eyes and knew that he could not ask her to decide between him and her people. That was not a fair question, so he would not force it upon her even if he had to. He would rather die than break her heart. But he couldn't stay… not when he had to see her married to another.

That left one option: leave, and never look back.

As if reading his thoughts, she leapt up and lunged for him, but he stepped back just before she got a hold of him. She barely caught herself, looking up at him with heartfelt tears in her eyes, threatening to spill over in a nanosecond.

"Please don't leave me… Vincent…"

But he said nothing, only closing his eyes slowly and turning his head to the side, not trusting himself to keep them closed. She let out an agonized cry, lunging for him again but he stepped away yet again. She let more tears fall and stayed stock still as she watched him turn on his heel and walk out of the room. Once the screen door snapped shut before him did she fall to the floor, her sobs screaming throughout the devastated city.

"VINCENT!"

* * *

A/N: You can kill me for not updating in a while, but you cannot kill me for leaving this cliffhanger. For if you do that, you will never know what happens... I actually had more to this chapter, but I rewrote the last part of this as I typed it up, and I liked where it ended. So, I'll save the next part of it for another chapter... evi laugh

Hate me. Love me. You decide.

Note:

**I. Do. Not. Write. Lemons.**

Let's remember that, 'kay? Don't ask me for them - ever.

**Chaos'babe  
Shadow of Darkness 22  
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line-chan  
My Harlequin Romance  
TOWTWUKER  
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O.o Wow there's a lot of you. Hope you liked this chapter despite the very... "mean" ending. ((lol))

**NEW FLASH!!! NEWS FLASH!!!**

_I have FINAL FANTASY VII!!!_

My friend is lending it to me, so I FINALLY get to play it! YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!! Rejoice, you might get an ingame fic now! cheers

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_

((Edited: 05.05.07))


	21. Hotaru General

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 21**

_Hotaru General

* * *

_

"Vincent Valentine, what in the hell are you doing?" Tifa yelled, dashing out of the pagoda after the gunman.

He did not stop, his eyes fixed on the road ahead of him as he walked toward the city gates with his guns back in their holsters. "I am doing what I should have done long ago."

"And what would that be?" Cloud roared, catching up.

"Letting her go."

Aerith was the next to catch up to the gunman, and her normally kind green eyes were infuriated. She grabbed a hold of his arm in attempts to stop him, but it didn't follow through like she had hoped. "Are you insane? She's the best thing that's ever happened to you!"

"I'm aware of that," Vincent replied, "But I knew that it was too good to be true. There was no possible way that Godo would allow us to be together – I should have seen that, and now my foolish hopes of happily ever after have backfired. Now my mistake is causing us both pain, and I'm fixing it the only way I know how."

Sephiroth shook his head in disgust, grabbing his friend by the shoulder, spinning him around and glaring into crimson eyes. "Who are you?"

The gunman blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Who are you and what have you done with Vincent Valentine?" The general asked, repeating his question. "The man I know wouldn't dream of letting someone besides Yuffie tell him what to do. He would find a way to win and come out on top, to make sure that nothing went wrong, one that never gives up. Where is he… because I want him back."

Vincent was silent for a moment. "Even if I could do something, what would it be? I can't just crash a wedding-"

A loud laugh boomed out from behind the group, and they all turned to look at who was listening in on their rather loud conversation.

Three people in blue suits stood there, each every different from the others. The one on the right was easily the shortest, and had light, cropped blonde hair that framed a delicate face. Her petite figure showed that she was a dainty and girly kind of woman, but her hard eyes betrayed her visage. The man on the left was a very threatening figure with his height and dark sunglasses. He arms were folded across his chest, and his bald head shone in what light came through the clouds. But the one in the middle was a true character with his spiky red hair, aqua blue eyes, scars beneath both eye, and a devilish grin plastered onto his face with a mag rod tapping against his padded shoulder.

"So… something needs to be crashed? When and where? I'm all over it."

Surprisingly, Sephiroth laughed. "Oh you've got to be kidding me! Reno? What are you doing here?"

"We're supposed to be guarding the Lady Yuffie's wedding." The woman replied, cutting the red head off. "But, judging by your conversation, that's not exactly what you want done…"

"You want us to help ruin it." The bald man finished, his eyes unreadable by his dark sunglasses.

The general nodded. "Exactly. Feel up to the challenge?"

The man named Reno grinned, putting his cigarette out on the paved street. "Bring it on man, I'm ready to go."

Sephiroth grinned, "That's what I like to hear." Looking around, he spotted bar and ushered everyone inside without a second thought. This conversation needed to be carried out where there wasn't a big chance they would be overheard…

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Now that they were seated, Reno lost his cockiness and looked Sephiroth dead in the eye. "Alright, so what's going on?"

"Introductions first." The bald man said, looking at each of the group in turn.

"Right." The general said. "Aerith," He said, pointing to the flower girl, "Tifa," pointing to the wine eyed beauty on her right, "Cloud," pointing to the blonde, "and Vincent." He finished, leaving the dark gunman to give the three newcomers a nod.

"Guys, these are the three top Turks – some of my closest pals." Sephiroth explained. "This is Elena," He said, pointing to the woman, "Reno, as you know," He said, waving at the aqua eyed stud, "And Rude." He said, the table falling into a hushed silence.

"I guess we should start with why we're here." The general continued, breaking the tense situation. "Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and I first met Vincent when he came into Costa del Sol with Yuffie. You could say they're an item, and they're going to stay that way." He said, glaring at the gunman out of the corner of his eye. "We were summoned here, and discovered that Yuffie was to be wed at the end of the week. Vincent here decides that all is lost and leaves, where we run into you."

"Anything before that?" Rude asked, processing the story in a matter of seconds.

Sephiroth looked at Vincent, not knowing anything before Costa del Sol. The gunman sighed. "Nothing of importance. Before we met up with the rest of the gang, Yuffie and I met each other, and… connected."

Rude nodded, satisfied with the answer. Elena leaned back in her chair, looking at the general. "So what do you want us to do?"

"Help us ruin the big day." Tifa answered, "I would rather die than see Yuffie married off to some guy that she's never met. She's meant to be with Vincent, and that's that."

Reno shook his head. "As much as I would love to help you, I really don't want to lose my job. Seph, I'm sorry, but I really do have to make a living, even if it is as a Turk. Our orders was to protect the wedding, not crash it."

Sephiroth slammed a fist onto the table, but the bar didn't notice, much to his relief. "Reno, of all the times you have to be a stickler for the rules! Help me!"

Rude shook his head, "For once, I agree with Reno. We can't just disobey the orders we've been given."

"Who can change those orders?" Vincent asked suddenly.

Reno blinked, "Or boss or a Turk of higher station… but there aren't many of them. We're as high as they come."

Elena rolled her eyes, "Oh bring it down a notch Reno, there's a few Turks we've yet to beat."

A slow, almost scary, smirk spread across Vincent's lips. "Then I order you to crash Lady Yuffie's wedding."

Rude blanched, "You can't do that – you're not a Turk!"

"Yes I am."

The table fell dead silent.

"No you're not." Reno said, trying to shove off the uncomfortable feeling.

"Yes I am. My name is Vincent Valentine."

Three mouths dropped.

"Holy shit." Reno breathed, leaning forward. "Seriously? THE Vincent Valentine? He lived 35 years ago!"

"I know. Ever heard of a man named Hojo?"

"Duh – who hasn't?"

Elena gasped, "You were his last experiment! I remember reading about it in a file while I was working!"

Rude glared at her, "You mean while you were hacking?"

Vincent chuckled, "Yes, that is me."

Reno shook his head in disbelief, but Elena clapped her hands. "Reno, it really is! He looks exactly like the after description!"

He rolled his eyes, "Laney, that means he would have a metal-"

CLUNK.

Reno starred wide-eyed at the glinting gold and gulped. "Okay… I think I believe you now…"

* * *

**Three Days Later**

Yuffie looked out her window, looking forlornly at the gray horizon.

He was gone.

He was gone… and he wasn't coming back.

Ever.

Just the thought nearly sent her into hysterical tears. Godo did not even show a scrap of mercy, nor did he look at her long. He didn't know what she was going through. He thought her break down after the news was just the realization that she lost her freedom. But it was more than that:

She lost the will to live.

But she wouldn't escape it – she wasn't weak. She'd make it through this. She would just run… run again and again until Godo gave up. She didn't want to face this reality anymore – she wanted to run and met her Valentine over and over again.

Wiping away the mundane tears, the sad bride-to-be looked back down at her sketch bed and chocked back another sob. She traced the faint outlines of the drawing, her tears threatening to fall and mar the picture and wash it away.

That would never happen.

Sniffling them away, she picked up her pencil and began to draw again, the outlines of a claw beginning to form around a tiny waist…

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**Two Days Later**

The plan was set. Everything was flawless. Little did the group know that it would crumble… on purpose.

Vincent looked at the gazebo where his love was to be wed and grinned: she would be there, but not her planned groom.

He turned away, walking back down Da Chao and grinning all the while. It was time to pay a visit to the clothing store… he was going to look every inch of whom he really was for his wedding day.

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Tifa stood on the balcony, watching the streets come alive for the much-anticipated wedding. How could such an occasion be so equally happy and depressing? Wutai was celebrating, but the fighter knew that her friend was about ready to die. This was far from fair – it was like someone placed her in her own personal hell.

"Hey there, beautiful."

She spun around, knowing full well that it wasn't Cloud. He hardly ever called her beautiful, and he hadn't been talking to her for a while. The bar hostess wasn't sure why, but she was pretty sure it had something to do with Aerith and Sephiroth. He picked her, but ever since the two had hooked up, she could feel him drifting.

Wine colored eyes rolled and she turned to look out over the celebrating streets. "What do you want Reno?"

The Turk shrugged, coming to stand beside her and leaned back against the railing, his smooth hands set loosely on the black railing. "Nothing much – just thinking."

"About something perverted?"

He grinned, "You know, for someone who hasn't even known me a week, you're doing pretty good."

She snorted, "No, I'm just a good guesser."

"Huh." He said, taking out a cigarette and a lighter.

Tifa plucked the lighter away from him, and he let out a cry of protest. "If you need to smoke, leave. Don't do it around me."

He pouted, snatched his lighter back and shoved both items back into his pockets. She smiled smugly; he obviously wanted to stay… but why?

They stood like that in silence for a while before Reno asked a rather unexpected question. "So you and that chocobo head are together?"

Tifa blanched at his use of nicknames. "Of course we are! And how dare you call him that!"

Reno just shrugged again. "Whatever – it's just a harmless nick name. And if you are together… why am I here with you instead of him?"

Having no response, Tifa fell silent, looking down at the railing, tears threatening to show themselves. He was right – why wasn't Cloud here?

Reno went on, getting up off of the railing. "If he knew what he had, he wouldn't leave you standing here while he chased things he can't have. He doesn't know how to treat a woman-"

"But you do?" Tifa hissed, spinning on him with a dangerous glare.

The Turk just looked into her wine eyes and didn't blink. "I will admit to you right now that I'm no better than him, but at least I can recognize something beautiful and give it the proper attention that it deserves."

And he left her on the balcony, all alone with her thoughts. She sat down hard, leaning her back against the black iron. She looked at her hands and they blurred in her vision. Why did that stupid (cute), promiscuous (sexy), pigheaded (amazing) Turk _always_ have to be right?

* * *

**Two Days Later**

It was here. The day she had been dreading. She walked down the steps of her father pagoda in her wedding gown, the white material spanning out behind her in waves, the fine silk trailing on a red carpet to protect it from the dark and dirty street. Nothing could return them to their former glory… not like this.

The crowd cheered as she ascended the steps of the gazebo and she wanted to cry when she set eyes upon her future husband.

Dark emerald eyes… dark brown hair, almost black… why did he have to haunt her even today? She walked toward him and he took her hand, and waked her up to the priest.

They continued through the ceremony, and the closer they came to the "I do's", the closer Yuffie came to screaming. Why must it end like this?

The young priest looked up and asked the crowd the question that Yuffie desperately hoped that someone would answer.

"Does anyone object to these two souls from being wed together?"

"Yeah – we do."

The crowd gasped, turning around to look at the Turk that had spoken. Reno's hair was still spiky as ever, and his grin was more pronounced. The other two Turks swooped in, along with Sephiroth and Cloud, and took out the guards.

Godo pointed at him, his rage written clearly upon his face. "How dare you! I will report you for disobeying my orders!"

"Your orders?" Reno scoffed, walking up the red aisle. "I don't listen to you old man, I listen to my boss and Turks of higher station. My orders have been changed around, so I must follow them. They were to make sure that this didn't happen, and I gladly accepted them."

The Lord of Wutai looked about ready to pop, and he spun around on the priest. "Declare them wed!"

But before the priest could even look back down at his book, it was deftly kicked from his hands. Tifa darted up, grabbed Yuffie up bridal style and jumped down the gazebo steps. They rolled for a few seconds, the bride's dress being ripped in a few places.

"Sorry…" Tifa gasped out, but Yuffie just shook her head.

"It's fine, really."

By now the crowd had run, but the police force had kept them in the square. They fired off shots, causing a frightened silence to fall over the wedding ceremony. Guns were pointed at the Turks and their helpers, and one of the remaining guards snatched Yuffie away from her friend, bringing her back up to her groom. Tifa looked around wildly, her eyes searching for his scarlet cloak. Where was he? He was supposed to take Yuffie and run! Had he been caught? Her head snapped around when the announcement to continue the ceremony was given. Her heart sank.

"No…" She whispered.

The priest nodded, his book back in hand. "Now, where were we…"

"Halt."

Dead silence filled the square. Guns were turned to point at the new comer, but were soon lowered in confusion. Who was this man?

Soft leather boots thudded upon the red velvet runway, and long, flowing black pants swished in their wake. A long sword hung from the figure's waist, its black sheath shimmering in the little afternoon sun. A deep and dark red coat hung from strong, broad shoulders, and fell well past its owner's knees, almost trailing just like a bride's dress. It was buttoned up in the middle, the bottom and top halves left to reveal the man's toned form. A dark gold undershirt was revealed underneath the coat, making the man's pale skin shine in what little sunlight came through the gray clouds. Dark strands of ebony were pulled back in a high ponytail, revealing a strong face and eyes as hard as ice.

Godo looked about ready to faint, and raised a shaking hand to point at him. "You… you…"

"It is I, Godo."

The old man let out a booming laugh, quickly descending the gazebo steps. He walked briskly, his old, lithe form showing through the sickly shell that he had become. He raised an old, withered hand and the mysterious man lifted a young hand to place it against his, and Godo laughed again.

"By Leviathan, it IS you!" He cried, giving the man a brief hug. Strangely, the enigmatic man only returned the friendly hug with one arm.

Godo pulled away, his face bright with long forgotten joy. "Yuffie, come here! Do you remember the heir of the Hotaru clan?"

Yuffie blinked, coming to stand at the top of the steps. "Godo, he is long dead."

He laughed even harder, "No my girl, he is not! He is right here!"

A dead silence became a stunned one as Yuffie gasped. "What?"

"My daughter, it is my utmost pleasure to introduce you to General Ven Hotaru!"

The plaza cheered, recognizing the name instantly. Sephiroth looked at Cloud, confusion written all over his face. "What? Isn't that…"

Cloud's eyes widened in shock, "Holy it IS!"

Yuffie shook her head, gray eyes wide in shock. "No… it's not possible! The heir fled Wutai-"

"35 years ago." The unnamed man replied in smooth Wutain, his velvety voice sounding like pure heaven in his native tongue. Yuffie almost swooned on the spot.

"It's… no…" She gasped, her heart wanting to believe it so badly.

"It's true…" He whispered, breaking away from his friend's hold and quickly jogging up the gazebo steps. "It's true, Yuffie, I swear." He repeated, taking her hands in his.

She shook her head, tears of joy shinning in her eyes. "You never said a thing…"

The man smiled a rare smile. "I know. I didn't think that I would have to say anything. I was more afraid of what would be thought of me after all of these years. I should have known that your father wouldn't hate me – we were best friends before I left."

Yuffie laughed at the irony of it all and hugged him close to her, and the crowd cheered. Godo ran back up the steps and dismissed the priest, grabbing the ex-groom by the ear and throwing him out of the gazebo.

"You are no longer welcome in my house – my daughter is not for you to marry. The old pact between the Kisaragi and Hotaru goes into effect as of today! Even though the leader of the clan is long gone, his son has returned home to us at last!"

The Wutain people cheered, and the Lord of Wutai smiled for the millionth time that day. "He is home, and he is going to wed a Kisaragi, as it was arranged many years ago! My sister is also long gone, so Lady Yuffie will take her place! Do not fear, our beloved Ven has not aged a day!"

Turning back to the couple, Godo laughed at the resounding cheers of the crowd. "How did this happen Ven?" He asked in Wutain.

Ven laughed, his rich and deep tone echoing throughout the entire gazebo. "You would not even begin to believe me if I told you."

"Then I will delight in hearing it." He replied, looking at his daughter. "Is this what you want?"

"Yes." She replied, placing her head on Ven's chest.

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" Sephiroth cried, breaking free of his guard's hold. "Yuffie, you're just going to marry some stranger?"

Ven just laughed, turning back to face the general. "What, can you not recognize friend from foe, Sephiroth?"

Everyone blanched at the sight of his face, but more importantly his eyes.

"Just because they call me by a different name, Sephiroth," Vincent explained with a grin, "Does not mean that I am someone different."

* * *

A/N: ((giggles insanely)) Oh you know you love me now... XD 

Actually, I felt so horrible about last chapter that I updated really quick. I wanted to leave you on a happy note for Thanksgiving, so I updated this for EVERYONE!!! A few people were on top of it and reviewed for last chapter, so this goes out to you!

**I LOVE YOU ALL!!! **

Thank you all so much for reading, and have a happy Thanksgiving!

_-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-_

P.S. This was typed in a bit of a rush, so I'm very sorry if there are any mistakes. I'll go back and fix them when I get back. XD

((Edited: 06.05.07))


	22. The End of the Kisaragi Line

((A/N: Yes, I am aware that I am now spelling Aeris "Aerith", and I did that on purpose. I like Aerith better, and I will go back and change it in the first TWENTY-ONE chapters. -- I'm so weird… anyway, read on!))

**The Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 22 **

_The End of the Kisaragi Line_

_

* * *

_  
Vincent stood behind his fiancé, hand and claw set on her waist. Ever since he had donned the coat of his family, he seemed unable to remove it and the familiarity it brought to him. He soon missed the "swish" of his old cloak, and Yuffie presented him with an early birthday present. No one had seen him so happy since they left the mansion and were delighted to see a smile upon his face. 

He wore his new coat constantly, the long for his scarlet cloak vanishing. Long and heavy material hung down from his shoulders to the wood floor in burgundy waves, and was only mere shades darker than his eyes. The high collar didn't button to hide his face, but he let that one slide. It was weighted in the shoulders just like the first one, and Vincent instantly loved it – even if it had less of a "swish".

Godo was delighted that his best friend had returned. It was obvious that he had missed him. He joked at his youth, but never pressed for any details why, how he knew Yuffie, how they had come to love each other – nothing. For that, Vincent was grateful.

Wutai was in celebration; their loved general was back. Yuffie was curious to know why he was so popular, but Godo would just smile and Vincent would just shake his head.

Determined to figure it out, she went to the barracks. There she found Sephiroth, Cloud and Reno all receiving a free lesson in staff fighting while the ladies watched their varying levels of success. Seeing as there wouldn't be another time to watch some sparks fly, Yuffie set aside her questions for the training masters and settled down next to her friends to watch.

"So, how's Vincent?" Tifa asked, watching the men trying to grasp the basic concepts.

"He's just fine, talking with Godo, I believe." She replied, "How are things out here?"

"Sephiroth's taking to this like a duck does to water." Aerith said proudly. Sure enough, the general was surpassing his friends by miles.

When Reno let out a triumphant cry, Tifa smiled. "Look's like Reno's not that far behind him either."

Aerith and Yuffie exchanged a glance, each of them confused yet curious. "Tifa…" Yuffie said slowly, "How's Cloud?"

"Hmm? Oh." The fighter replied, her eyes flicking over to the blonde for a second before fixing her wine colored eyes back on the Turk. "He's fine."

"Tifa, what about you and Cloud?" Aerith questioned.

The woman sighed, looking down at her hands. "I don't know." She whispered, "He's been distant lately…"

"Do you know why?"

"Of course not!" Tifa whispered fiercely, blinking rapidly. "I'm afraid that he might not lo-"

"Don't say that Teef!" Yuffie exclaimed softly, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "He can't just **stop** all of a sudden you know!"

Aerith looked at the struggling fighter sadly. "I… I think he can." She said softly.

"Aerith!" Yuffie gasped, starring aghast at her friend. Was she insane?

Tifa looked up at the flower girl, eyes sad. "You've noticed, haven't you? He's been giving Sephiroth looks and watching you."

Aerith nodded, her eyes troubled by the knowledge she had. "I have."

"He's regretting his choice…" Tifa said slowly, only a bit of sadness entering her voice. "He… doesn't care anymore. I can do what I want!"

Yuffie starred at her openly, but a grin spread over her face. "Have something in mind?"

Tifa's eyes unknowingly settled upon Reno, whose cocky attitude had vanished so he could actually retain something from this lesson. Her friends giggled, making the fighter blush and look back at them with a glare.

"Why him?" Aerith asked.

"He… talked to me a few days ago, before we saved Yuffie." She explained, "He said I could do better, stuff like that."

They were all silent, none of them willing to confirm the Turk's words. They watched the three men practice in silence, each of their thoughts riding different trains.

Aerith was obviously looking at Sephiroth, glowing with pride. He was a quick learner to begin with, and he wanted to succeed, especially since he knew she was watching. He whirled his staff easily like his constructor, and struck right on cue. She smiled when he glanced over, and he gladly returned it. His male instructor grinned and whacked the general on the arm, making him focus back on their task. He paid better attention after that.

Tifa looked at Cloud occasionally to make sure he wasn't bruising himself. But other than that, she watched her fancy, the red headed Turk. He was holding up nicely, having some experience with something like a staff, that being his mag rod. After all, he did have to wield it so he didn't shock himself…

His hair was as spiky as ever, and slightly dark around his forehead from the sweat due to his labor under the sun. He had shed his navy blue jacket long ago and his white button up shirt was sticking in a few places. He may have looked disgusting to some, but Tifa found him to be nothing short of perfection.

Which, in turn, disgusted her. How could she ogle someone else when she had just met, with the man that claimed her only mere yards away? Was she that heartless? But that's all that it was – a claim, something that could change or withdraw at any given moment. After that, some of the guilt left her alone.

Yuffie watched the clouds roll by; the leaves sway… anything to distract her from the information that was flying through her head. So Cloud was jealous of Sephiroth because he had Aerith? The new was certainly startling, yet Yuffie could see it somehow, in a twisted way. She always thought that Tifa and Cloud looked cute together, but now that it might be threatened, it made her think. Tifa could get anyone she wanted, and she could certainly do better than Cloud.

Yuffie was friends with the blonde, but they honestly weren't that close. That probably contributed to her thoughts about his worth as a match for Tifa. But she didn't even know Reno, and he seemed to fit Tifa more… what was wrong with her? In fact, the ninja began to believe she was thinking these things so she wouldn't be reminded about who wasn't there. Before she could dwell on her missing Wutain gunman, clapping and cheering brought her back to reality.

Sephiroth had successfully disarmed his instructor.

Aerith was glowing with pride, and the general was obviously proud of himself judging by the smile he gave her. Cloud looked over at them with a bit of envy in his blue, mako eyes and Tifa saw the whole thing. Yuffie knew that there was really problems between them now – one had to be blind to not see that.

"Good job!" Godo laughed, having stopped his afternoon walk to congratulate Sephrioth. "But I know of one person that might pose a challenge…"

"Don't you dare set me up…" The man on his left said, his tone stating that he was dead serious.

"What, have you grown rusty?" Godo teased, "Show your friend what it looks like, Ven! Wait, what is that they call you now?"

"Vincent." The gunman replied.

"All right, show him Vincent!" He said, handing his childhood friend a staff.

Tifa and Aerith urged him on, and Yuffie wrapped her arms around his waist. "Please?" She asked, "I've never seen you use anything but a gun!"

Vincent sighed, taking the staff from Godo. "You're going to have to let go of me." Yuffie giggled in delight and did as she was told. He stepped forward to face the general. "Are you ready?"

"You have to be kidding me." He replied with a grin.

An ebony eyebrow rose in question. "You doubt me? That is a very fatal mistake Sephiroth: never underestimate your opponent." He informed the silver haired man, swinging his staff upward to give the man a sharp blow to the chest, one on the back once he doubled over from the shock, and scooped his knees out from under him.

Everyone starred in shock as Vincent handed Godo the staff back, and helped Sephiroth up. "Even if your opponent hasn't touched a staff in thirty years."

"And just because they fall doesn't mean it's over!" The general cried, aiming for Vincent's chest. The gunman dove to the side, swinging his leg around Sephiroth's bringing him to the ground again. As the general crumpled, Vincent jumped up and hauled him up by the shirt and secured his hands behind him. His right hand held the general's behind his back at a painful angle while his left one was pinned between them. Sephiroth gasped, unused to be taken so easily and his breath hitched when he felt Vincent's cool metal claw wrap around his throat.

"Please do not try and hit me – it does not end well." He said, his voice a low and deadly monotone.

"Point… taken!" The general gasped, and Vincent let him fall to the ground after taking a few steps back. Everyone starred in shock, and Yuffie found herself covering her mouth with her hands, and her gaze slowly turned to Vincent. Is this… why he was so famous? Was it because he was so ruthless and cold in battles?

He met her gaze, and his blood red eyes softened, and looked away sharply when he found that her eyes were starring back at him in frightened awe. He moved toward Sephiroth and knelt down next to him, helping him up. "Are you all right?" He asked quietly, wanting to remedy the situation. "I hate doing that, I really do."

"You… really were a Turk…" Sephiroth gasped, laughing. The gunman could not stop the grin that came over his face and chuckled, standing up with his friend.

"Thank you for reminding me." He said dryly, and Godo laughed from behind them.

"And you let me believe that you had grown rusty!" He taunted, shaking his head with mirth.

"I had… hoped I had." He said quietly, only the general hearing his confession. He wondered what the gunman could have meant but knew that he would not receive and answer no matter how many times he asked.

"Vincent… why are you so famous here?" Yuffie asked, "How did you become the general?"

The demon gunner sighed, looking at the young ninja. "Doing just that. I was the coolest and most collected of my class."

"That's not true!" One of the trainers said, coming to smack him on the shoulder. "You were so much more than that! Everyone looked up to you, and it was only natural that you would get the position! And after you lead that attack against Midgar's forces, there was no denying what you were capable of!"

Vincent grimaced. "Thank you for reminding me."

The trainer grinned, "Not a problem, buddy."

The gunman frowned, "Buddy…?" He repeated, wondering who had the nerve to call him that. He focused on the grinning trainer's face and realization hit. Instead of being happy, Vincent rolled his eyes and pushed back on the man's head. "Oh great… why are you still alive?"

The trainer laughed, "What, you're not going to say hello to your old training partner?"

"No, frankly, I am not. I have way too many bruises from you."

Everyone laughed, and Yuffie looked at her gunman with pride. So, he had led an attack? Come to think of it… she had learned of that attack while she was studying when she was younger. Ven Hotaru… who could forget him? He was rumored to be the most beautiful man in Wutai, and the best with a Midgarian sword. The stories were true on one count for sure – he was a looker. But the ninja had yet to see him with a sword…

But that threw something into shock that Yuffie had never thought about. He was so different from the man that she had grown to love. The man she loved harbored a demon and had a wicked shot. The man that stood in front of her, this, Ven, wielded staffs and swords with practiced ease, whom moderated his words and made sure that he spoke carefully. The man she loved did that, but he was never so formal… ever. He never had been. The more she thought, the more she felt like she was going to cry. Had coming home been a mistake? Had returning here and making him don the cloak of responsibility make the man she loved leave forever? Had she mad a mistake?

"Yuffie? Are you all right?" Vincent asked, noticing her stare at the ground, lost in her thoughts. She looked up at him, her eyes shinning and she just shook her head. His eyes became worried, and he tilted his head to the side. "What's wrong?"

Just the way he responded confirmed her thoughts: Vincent Valentine was gone. Instead, she was to marry this Ven Hotaru who was nothing like her demon gunman. She just shook her head again, picking up the skirts of kimono and dashed out of the practice yards.

Vincent's eyes widened, wondering what on the Planet had gotten into her. "Yuffie!" He cried, watching her retreating figure. He looked back at his friends and excused himself before dashed after her.

* * *

"Yuffie, wait."

She stopped immediately, but did not turn to face him. Her tears were upon her face, but she did not brush them away. There was no point anyway – they would only be replaced in a matter of seconds. Before he could even begin to form a question or statement, Yuffie spoke.

"You're not the Vincent I know anymore." She said quietly, her words sending him into shock. His red eyes widened, and his mouth opening slightly. How was he different? She understood his silence and turned around to face him, her eyes bright with her tears. "Ever since you've put on that coat, I've lost Vincent Valentine. Instead I'm faced with this… person I don't even know! He's become this man named Ven and claims to love me, yet he's never even held my hand!" Her voice was high and cracking, seeing as she didn't even bother to lower it. Let anyone hear, she didn't care anymore. Vincent stepped forward with an outstretched hand, yet she shied away from his touch. "Who are you?"

The question rang out over the sheltered path, bringing absolute silence along with it. To anyone listening, the question was just that, a question. A question, nothing more, nothing less, something insignificant to anyone… anyone but him. He slowly reached out for her and she did not step away this time. His human hand rested upon her shoulder as his claw came to cradle the left side of her head with a feather's touch. She closed her eyes sadly, still seeing the careful gentleman that he had become. Where was the man that she had loved so many days ago? As if he could sense her sadness, his hands quickly dropped. She looked up at him in confusion, and her eyes soon began to shine in happiness.

In her favorite pair of crimson eyes she saw the emotion that she lived to see, and felt her heart melt. The degree of love that shone through warmed her body and soul, and more tears began to fall, this time of happiness as she took a step closer to him, immediately regretful of her words. Placing her hands upon his chest and reaching a hand up to caress his face, she was startled at his slight groan. "Vincent?" She asked, worried.

When he opened his eyes again, Yuffie felt her insides burn. The look now was much different, one of hunger and lust… for her and her alone. Before she could say another word, his hand and claw held her head and his lips came crashing down on hers, begging for forgiveness that she quickly gave him, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him close. Gone was the kind and kind gentleman. Her gunman was back.

Vincent pulled her closer, fastening his golden arm around her waist possessively with his hand cradling the back of her head. One of her arms hung over his shoulders, while her other hand buried itself in his ebony hair, twirling the silk around her fingers.

They stayed like that for minutes, enjoying the gunman's return. Godo looked up at Sephiroth, slightly shocked. "Is this was they were like before they came here?" He asked the general.

He grinned, looking down at the older man. "In a way, though this is the first time that I've seen them do something like this-"

"Oh good!" Godo said with relief.

"_- in person."_ Sephiroth said, finishing his statement in his head with a snicker.

* * *

The happy atmosphere was gone… and seemed as if it would never return. Even Yuffie couldn't force a smile. 

He had fallen ill.

Deathly ill.

But the one that was affected the most refused to show it. Vincent helped Yuffie run Wutai after the attack. But now… it's for real. There's no going back and fixing the mistakes later… not ever.

Everyone was in shock, and the young ninja cried for the first time for him when the doctor stepped outside the sick room.

"I'm… sorry. His heart attack was so severe; there was no chance of recovery. He's… dead."

Vincent couldn't catch her she fell so fast. He knelt down beside her and held her tightly, hiding his own tars in her hair. Everyone gathered around them, lending them their support. Yuffie clung to Vincent's sleeve, praying that this was all a dream. But his quiet sobs were just as real as her heart breaking ones.

Sephiroth never wanted to see either of them cry, and seeing Vincent like this really shook him. He gathered Aerith into his arms and watched the doctor leave the room. Cloud made no move toward Tifa, which made the fighter even more miserable. The general opened one of his arms to her, and she gratefully ran in. She instantly became envious of Aerith for having a home in these arms, but it was all cut off when she felt Sephiroth lean down to whisper something in her ear. "I am so sorry Tifa… you'll make it through. That excuse of a man is throwing away something so beautiful it disgusts me."

His words caused her to stop, and she clung to him desperately, crying into his chest. Aerith leaned her head against hers, crying along with her for her realization and the death in the next room. The general held them close, not wanting to face the world.

Outside of the mourning room, the city lamented the passing of the Lord of Wutai, the last of the Kisaragi line.

* * *

A/N: I'm so morbid... don't hate me! I updated, you can't be mad at me! ((pause)) Okay, just don't kill me, 'kay? This is everyone's Christmas present, though it's not exactly happy... it's still your present, so get over it. xD

**Coquettish Siren  
Aveira  
Just Jill  
SunsetGlory  
Silvian Arrow  
readergirl-290  
Shadow of Darkness 22  
Artemis-chan of Redwing  
line-chan  
Lord Makura  
Noon6  
Black-Dragon-Rock  
RedRoseInADarkAlley  
BRinnie  
Rockreaper  
InTheArmsOfChaos  
DragonessWarrior  
Asmi-chan  
My Harlequin Romance**

Thank you all so much for reading and hangin' in there with me! xD No doubt you all notice that I'm breaking Cloud and Tifa apart, and yes, I'm doing because I want to. I hate Cloud for some reason... and I'm on a RenoxTifa kick. Hate me. You don't see much of them right now, but there's a companion fic coming along with this one... ((snickers)) Oh you all are all like, "WHAT?"

I love myself sometimes...

You might see a story entitled The Last Cigarette on my profile, and I beg you all to go read it! Please, that's what I've been doing during class, and I think that it turned out pretty good! xD

((sigh)) Well, I'm done ranting... sorry that it took so long! And sadly... this is almost done... only five chapters left... ((cries))

-Vincent's Angel of Chaos


	23. Truths

**Ninja And The Demon – Chapter 23**

_Truths

* * *

_

Vincent sighed at the faint sound of a pencil against paper, smiling at the dark ceiling. He paused slightly before turning over and watching the woman next to him sketch away, working only by candlelight. He smiled faintly, stretching his human hand out to lightly touch her knee.

"Hmm?" She replied softly to his touch, not looking away from her work.

He propped himself up on his elbow, allowing his hand to trace patterns on her bare thigh. He let a small smile emerge at her sigh of frustration.

"Are you trying to distract me, Vincent?"

The gunman just chuckled, tapping her nose. "I feel very lonely, not knowing what you are drawing." He told her softly, his voice barely a murmur.

"Too bad for you…" she winked, closing her sketchpad. He frowned, scooting closer to her and leaning his head on her shoulder and slipped his claw around her waist. Yuffie's resolve wavered as he kissed her bare shoulder, moving aside the skinny strap of her nightgown. She let out a giggle when he kissed her neck, and she flipped open the notebook for him to see. He took it with his human hand and sat up with a smug smile. He won these battles most of the time, but she didn't mind. It distracted her from the reality that most of them seemed to be running from.

Vincent looked at the sketch, sadly noticing that it was recently started. But his keen eyes could spy two forms looking at each other, their hands mere centimeters from the other. He smiled, letting her take her drawing back. "Who are they?" He asked gently, laying his head on top of hers while he watched her continue.

"You'll see." She said with a smile, leaning back into his stone chest.

He patiently watched her work, letting the shapeless forms take on a name. His breath caught when she started on one form's hair. It hung down their back, pooling out onto the surface that they sat upon. It was shaded lightly, and Vincent kissed her temple. "Sephiroth and Aerith, correct?"

Yuffie sighed, rotating her wrist while she answered. "Yes, it's them. Do you like it so far?"

He chuckled, kissing the corner of her mouth. "I love it, but I am patient; I will let you finish it at your speed. In the mean time, I am going to sleep." He told her, taking her pencil and notebook from her and setting them on the bedside table. He laid down, pulling her from down next to him. "You need some sleep, Yuffie. Do not think that I have not noticed."

The young ninja sighed, snuggling into his embrace. "Is that why you're staying here tonight?" She mumbled into his chest.

Vincent smoothed her hair and frowned. "Not only that, but I did not want to be alone." He admitted, "You seem so distant since he left us, it seems that not even I can reach you… and that scares me." He whispered to her, feeling her body beginning to tremble against him. "You have not even cried, have you?"

Yuffie just clung to him, shaking her head in time with her shoulders. Vincent rubbed her back as she cried, his own eyes closed against tears. The sobs subsided, and she slowly pulled away. He moved his claw to hold her head in place, and leaned in to kiss away the tears on her cheek. She almost began again at the feeling of his feather light kisses lifting the moisture off of her face. Once he dubbed her all right, Vincent pulled back and looked into her gray eyes. Yuffie tried to smile, but he frowned at her attempts. Instead, she hesitantly placed a kiss on his lips. He met her with much more confidence, pulling her into his tight embrace. He placed his claw in her hair, his arm secured tightly around her frame. Her own hands were all over his chest and fisted into his hair. The gunman summoned the strength to push her away, which he did with a gasp. The ninja looked up at him, chest heaving, clearly not happy at his intervention. He let out a groan, sliding further down the bed to place his head on her chest, listening to her racing heart. She played with some of his hair, the other on one of his shoulders.

Yuffie closed her eyes, smiling sadly. "You miss him too." She said aloud.

Vincent nodded, sighing. "I miss him, and so does everyone else. I do not like to admit it, but I am afraid. Your are his her, my fiancé…"

"You're going to help me rule," she finished for him.

He shook shi head, sitting up on his elbow to look at her directly. "Yuffie, I am of Wutain blood. I am going to marry you, which will make me-"

"The ruler of Wutai!" She finished for him, her eyes wide. Vincent gave a slight nod, his crimson eyes wary of her reaction. But a smile lit up her race, and her body relaxed. "Thank Leviathan!" She breathed, making the gunman frown in utter confusion. "You think that I would be the best, but I'm not. I have never seen Wutai at its greatest. You have, you've been there-"

"Yuffie-"

"Vincent, you know I'm right! You know that you can do it!" She cried, eyes fierce. "Please Vincent, understand! I will marry you, take your name, and you will ascend to my father's throne! Please, this is the best way! You know how to-"

But she could not finish her sentence, her lips prisoner under his. When he did finally release her, they were both breathless, chests rising and falling in time. Vincent gave her a hesitant smile, but his eyes were grateful. "Thank you for believing in me, Yuffie." He murmured, voice rumbling in his chest as he laid his head back down above her heart.

She sighed happily, running her fingers through his ebony hair. "It's my job, Vinnie."

* * *

Unlike Yuffie, Tifa slept alone and confused. As a matter of fact, sleep eluded her. The past few days of Cloud being at a distance haunted her, and no one came forward to chase them away. The fighter flung back the covers, leaving her room. She did not even bother to cover herself with a robe from the chilly night air, figuring that no one would be up at this hour to care. Her pants and tank top covered all of the essentials anyway, so there was no reason to worry. Tifa burst out into the courtyard behind the pagoda, and she gasped as the cold wind hit her like a slap to the face.

A form to her right spun around, causing her to jump. To her horror, the form looked back at her with glowing blue eyes and golden hair. Her mouth moved to make an excuse or apology, but no sound emerged. Her embarrassment over it became apparent as Cloud approached her with a sad look in his eyes. Tifa stood extremely still, her eyes wide. His arms came to wrap around her waist and tugged, causing her to slam into his chest. She let out a squeak of surprise but it was cut off by a quick kiss from the swordsman.

"I'm sorry, Tifa…" He whispered in her ear, "I know that I've been horrible for the past week, and I don't have an excuse. Just, please… can you forgive me?"

Tifa was speechless, his words replaying over and over in her head like a tape recorder. They never changed, always begging her of the same thing. How could she say no… well, not that she wanted to in the first place. Slowly, she relaxed into him, snaking her arms around his neck and resting her head on his shoulder. The arms around her tightened, a hand beginning to run up her back, holding the back of her head, forcing her to look up. Tifa wondered how she had ever doubted him. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and smiled, letting him know it was all right. He beamed down at her and kissed her again, this time not so gently. Tifa melted into him completely, her heart fluttering wildly.

While her heart beat faster, another died. A pair of eyes closed quickly, and hesitantly opened to look back at the scene. The fire inside them died, and the hopeful spark in aquamarine optics vanished just as quickly as she had from his life.

* * *

The next day was a quiet one, the city staying out of the rainy streets. Despite the water that poured from the sky, a glimmer of moonlight illuminated the soaking wet city. All of the windows were open and faces peeked out, watching the streets. Numerous people stood on their covered porches and looked out at the passing processional as it carried a long, mahogany coffin down the wide and curving streets. The many people carried candles, sheltering them with a hand from the rain. Their long black cloaks flapped in the wind, muting their chanting voices. The train itself was like a long black serpent that carried the most valuable treasure in Wutai. Six men carried the casket itself while the main leaders and closed friends made up the cloaked mass. Two people led the way, their candles burning brightly through the haze. The road to the mountain was long, but they never showed any signs of fatigue. As they walked, candles sputtered out like the faith of the people, the wind and rain dousing their warmth and happiness with whispers and hisses. The Lord was being taken back to rest upon the altar located the hidden shrine locked away within the mountain. The further the winding river of black walked up the trail, the harder the conditions became. The struggle to keep the flames alive was becoming more difficult, much like keeping the very city running in this gloom.

While some struggled with this task, two did not. They walked on, their steps in time with the other. Their candles shone on brightly, the only two who could bring hope back to this dead city.

The mourners reached the shrine, and the candles that remained lit were held by only two souls. The pair followed the casket into the shrine, the rest of the mourners leaving to begin the descent down the mountainside. The casket was set upon the altar, and the six men who carried it left as well, leaving the two alone. They lowered their hoods, gray eyes like the clouds of the sky and crimson looking at the casket. The gray-eyed woman wore the dark blue of her house, the soaked cloak still about her shoulders. The man had removed his black one to reveal his long and tattered gunner's cloak, wanting to be protected from the frigid rain. The two lit the candles in the shrine and blew out the ones in their hands, setting them by the entrance.

The woman closed her eyes and lifted her chin, willing herself not to try. Her hands never shook as she gripped them together tightly, knuckles turning white. Her companion looked down at her with eyes that matched her garb, and he reached out a claw to rest around her shoulders. It moved to encircle her waist so he could hold her properly, his human hand playing with a strand of her slightly damp hair. She flung her arms around him, and he squeezed her tighter, pulling her head into his chest. Her wet face found the warm folds of his cloak, and she let herself be buried within.

"I… can't… take it… anymore!" She cried through a fit of dry sobs. "Take… me… away from here!"

"You cannot run away." He told her, resting his head atop of hers. "I cannot dot his on my own… not without you."

A sickening crunch was heard, followed by a grunt of pain. She jumped in his embrace, seeing two black and leathery wings envelope her. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, "You are not on your own, and you never will be. You are never alone, for I am always with you. Stay here and be strong… for me at least. I cannot do this alone, I do not want to try."

She relaxed in his embrace, her hands fisting around blood red fabric as strong arms held her close, black wings blocking her from the cold slap of wind and the reality that came with it. She was held by her demon that sheltered her from the fires of hell that threatened her sanity and strength.

She traced patterns over his heart, looking up into his still human face. She frowned, confused. He silenced her unspoken question with a shake of his head. He scooped her up into his arms and continued to shelter her small form within his chest and wings as he moved toward the entrance.

"We should return." Vincent remarked softly, his voice plunging down to an even deeper tone, a throaty growl coming from his chest as Chaos' own voice melded with his.

Yuffe shivered at the sound, a small smile on her lips as she snuggled into the scarlet folds, his warmth seeping into her heart and soul. "We should." She agreed, pulling her hood back up as he took off. They flew over the city, and the people pointed from their windows as porches, wondering at the sight. Vincent flew on, landing gently on the steps of the pagoda. He pulled his wings back in and winced slightly, still holding her tightly.

"We're going to bury him soon, aren't we?"

He nodded once, his physical pain becoming an emotional one, his heart tearing. He never wanted to see his best friend die. The gunman shut the door behind them, shutting out the sounds of the rain. "Three days." He informed her, setting her down and taking off her wet cloak, letting it fall to the floor. He wrapped one arm around her securely, guiding her to the bedroom. No doubt everyone was asleep within his or her room, avoiding the dreary weather. They entered her room and she turned to head toward the bathroom, but he grabbed her arm.

"No… let me." He whispered.

Shivers of unfamiliar delight ran down Yuffie's spine as Vincent's hand and claw worked at the fastening of her dress. A warm and cool touch pushed the fabric off of her shoulders and caressed bare skin, hot lips leaving trails of kisses across her shoulders and back of her neck. She shivered gain, turning around to quickly unbuckle the straps on his scarlet cloak, and helped him out of his shirt even faster. With her task done, she clung to him in only her shift, and he wordlessly hugged her close. Vincent lifted her up once again and laid her down on the bed, crawling in next to her. She instantly molded herself to fit against him as her weary body succumbed to sleep.

'_Yuffie… if you only knew how strong you are…'_ Vincent thought, letting himself trail off.

'**_You have done well, Valentine. She is the one.'_** Chaos told him.

The gunman would have glared at his demon if he could. _'I did not need you to tell me what I know for myself, Chaos._'

'**_I know,'_** came the reply, **_'but it is good to know that my host is in good hands.'_**

If Vincent was surprised by Chaos' words, he did not show it. _'Do you think that our troubles are over?'_

'_**Your troubles will never be over, Valentine. Something will always come up. Though, I understand what you mean. I think you have a ways to go before there is peace for you and the mistress.'**_

The gunman sighed, closing his own weary eyes. _'Do you know what is coming? Can you tell?'_

'**_Not exactly,'_** the demon confessed, **_'though I have the feeling that you might need to call upon me when the time is right.'_**

Vincent's eyes flew open; if Chaos had to be called on, then it had to be something that threatened Yuffie, him, or both of them, directly. _'You know nothing else?'_ He asked his demon.

Chaos replied with a bitter tone. **_'That is correct. I am sorry, Valentine. But you will know when I am needed, do not worry. I shall let you know in case you need it.'_** The demon left then, leaving the gunman to think with himself. If Chaos' words were meant to comfort him or not, it did not matter. Vincent knew that Chaos did not know – that alone scared him more than what was actually going to happen.

* * *

Vincent was off with the new general, organizing the defense for the funeral. Yuffie had requested to go, but he told her to stay behind. He had explained that if few people knew about the entire plan, the easier it would be for it to remain secret. The young ninja did not like his decision, but it made perfect sense, thus the reason she did not push the matter.

It gave her time to work on her numerous projects, so it was not all that bad. Her sketch of the second pair was done, but she was stuck on the third. How should she draw them? The notes she had taken mere weeks ago were no source of help. What was the mood, what did she want to portray? The more she thought about it, the less he wanted to draw them. She looked dejected down at the blank paper as if cursing it for her predicament. She slowly set done her pencil, admitting defeat.

But before she let it go, a thought struck her. Why not shake things up? Yuffie began to draw one form that lied down on their back, and after a few minutes, long hair was added, fanning out under their shoulder and on their chest. As the light from her candle began to flicker out, a man was soon added in on his hands and knees, looking down at the woman underneath him. She smiled to herself, shutting her notebook as her light went out. It was relit seconds later, Tifa coming to sit beside her on the futon.

"What have you been up to?" She asked, leaning back on her hands.

Yuffie smiled, setting her drawings on the table next to her. "Nothing. How are things with you?"

The wine-eyed woman beamed. "Amazing! Cloud and I have worked everything out!"

The ninja celebrated along with her friend, knowing fully well what was in her drawing. She did not feel guilty – drawing that man in was completely natural, for he _belonged_ in that picture, he _belonged_ in that scene. Yuffie was happy for Tifa, but she knew that things would eventually change… for everyone.

Tifa would get her happy ending, but it was not with a blond haired swordsman. That much Yuffie knew, was the truth.

* * *

A/N: This was a very necessary filler chapter. Hopefully you liked it, even though it's very... blah. O.o But things were hinted at in here that will carry over in THE SEQUEL.

Yes, I dropped the "S" bomb. Aren't you all so happy? xD

And due to one review asking where Chaos went, here ya' go! I must admit that I forgot how much fun writing Vinnie-boy's demon is. ((lol)) Most people were varied on the whole RenoxTifaxCloud thing, so nothing will happen in this story, just for the sake that that's what you're reading this for. In THE SEQUEL however, there are no promises. Actually, the sequel will mainly focus on Tifa. So... ponder that... ((evil laugh))

**Shadow of Darkness 22  
Just Jill  
TionneDawnstar  
saharasfury  
Lord Makura  
Tishannia  
Aveira  
DragonessWarrior  
Coquettish Siren  
Silvan Arrow  
UnrequitedxLove  
x line-chan x  
Miss.Valentine71  
The Squabbit  
Midnight-Chaos-Flame  
readergirl-290  
Artemis-chan of Redwing  
DemonicChaos896**

((beams)) You all make me so happy. xD

I shall update soon! ((nods firmly))

_- Vincent's Angel of Chaos_


	24. Bloody Goodbye

**Ninja and the Demon – Chapter 24**

_Bloody Goodbye

* * *

_

The whistling and clanging of swords could be heard throughout the city instead of mourning bells. The casket was under constant guard at the shrine, untrusting of the people below. The clouds had not vanished from the gray sky, but the rain had ceased, allowing spots of sunlight to filter through and dry the crying city. People walked along the damp streets in fear, wondering when one of them would jump out of an alley or waiting for them around the corner. They terrorized the streets, forcing people to go out only in the daylight or remain at home all together. Most did, paying for warriors to run their errands. A special force had been established to patrol the streets and protect the people once darkness fell. They urged the citizens back home for the later hours, praying that nothing would happen to them along the way.

There were six squads in all that watched the city, and one in reserve for the most dire of occasions. One elite warrior or marksman led each group while the soon-to-be Lord himself was at the head of one. Three groups took the first shift while the last three took the next. This had gone on for weeks, ever since the rebellion group had started up. They emerged just at the right time – right before the first plans of the cremation of the late Lord. But they had other plans…

Not much was known about them, only that they were extremely organized. No trace of them was ever left behind, and every brawl planned to the extreme. This group, dubbed the Nameless, for no one knew what they were really called, was obviously led by someone who knew what they were doing, defiantly not a commoner, but knew exactly what would cause the most disturbance.

To combat them, the Guild was created. Each fighter held a rank, hid by a secret name, though everyone knew of the order. The lowest, and most common, rank was the Underlings. These were any man or woman in the guard that fought against the rebels. The next ones up were the Shadows. They made sure that the Underlings followed orders, and there was usually one or two per patrol group. From there, only six people held the next highest station. These six were named Shades. At first they had a longer, flashier name, but it began to become a mouthful over walkie-talkies. The six themselves were Cloud, Rude, Elena, Reno, Tifa, and Sephiroth. They worked for one being only – The Demon.

Many believed that this being really was a demon, not a man. There had been reports that in the latest hours of night, a form with large black wings would fly over the streets, eliminating any threat that still lingered. The secret members of the Guild encouraged this rumor, not wanting anyone to know that the demon was real. He had a different name in the beginning, but everyone called him what the tales said he was.

Tonight was no different. He stood at his table, a map spread out, and the six gathered around him. His love stood by his side, in the embrace of his left arm. Both hands were flat on the table, and crimson eyes peered at the lines of buildings and cliffs.

"I want everyone to stay focused on the west side of the city," he said, a gold digit tapping the right side of the map. "There have been a few uprisings there and I do not want them to get out of hand. But do not forget about the rest of the city. If necessary, I might have some of the Shadows take out a party if we are shorthanded or need back up."

The six nodded, and they left, knowing that night was approaching soon. Yuffie looked up at The Demon, her gray eyes worried. "Please tell me that you are not going out tonight."

Vincent looked down at her, his eyes heavy and sad. "I cannot promise you that Yuffie, you know that more than anyone. I go when I am needed."

"You worry me when you go." She confessed, lowering her jeweled eyes.

The gunman sighed, slowly wrapping his arms around her small body and laying his head down on her head. "I know, I know…" He whispered, breathing in the smell of her hair. "I swear that I shall stay safe. Everyone will come home tonight."

Yuffie snuggled in deep into his embrace, letting his scent waft over her. She could never distinguish it, and she changed her mind daily about what it was. Tonight he smelled of leather, the straps lining his chest pressing into her cheek. That was why, she thought. This morning he had smelled of guns, having handled one the night before, shooting at anyone within range. She would never admit it, but she waited at the door, praying to Da Chao for his return, as if he could not handle himself. Before she let him go, she protested violently, not wanting to hear the news that he would not be coming home.

Knowing that he would not stay, she settled on going with him. She wished to protect her city as well, but Vincent refused. That was the first time he had ever raised his voice to her, and the only time he ever would.

**Flashback**

_Yuffie stood with her hands folded at her waist, stormy gray eyes steady and cool. She had told Vincent that she was going to help whether he liked it or not. He had not given her an answer yet, for his eyes were closed and he rubbed his temple._

"_No." Came his simple reply, crimson orbs still hidden underneath his lashes._

_Yuffie temper flared and she refrained from stomping her foot. "Vincent, seriously! I am a grown woman that can take care of herself! I am more than capable of defending-"_

"_I said no." He repeated, his voice cold. "A young woman like you does not belong fighting on the streets."_

_This time her foot made a thud on the wood floor. "For the love of Leviathan! Vincent Valentine, I am going to do this!"_

_The gunman's head snapped up, his crimson eyes flashing with sudden anger. "What part of no do you not understand?" He asked in a low growl. "I fail to see why we are even talking about this. You are going to stay here."_

"_Do you believe that I'm going to sit here and watch?"_

"_I expect you to!" Vincent shouted, his velvet voice at a higher pitch, and the sound of fury was easily heard. "When I say that you are going to remain here, I mean it! I will not have you endangering your life!"_

_Yuffie rolled her eyes, "Then I'll stay with you since you're so protective and paranoid!"_

_Utter silence followed. _

_Yuffie instantly regretted her words._

_Especially at the look in Vincent's eyes: utter shock and hurt._

"_Is that what you think of me?" He asked quietly, his voice shaking. "Is that how you see me?" A golden claw was placed over his chest as he spoke, his voice rising again, carrying a trace of pain. "Excuse me for caring then! Do you want to go out and most likely kill yourself? Do you know what that would do to me? If you leave, my life becomes absolutely worthless. The only reason I get up in the morning it to see your smile right next to me. Just the thought of you not being there makes my heart stop beating from the pain!" His hands shot out, gripping her shoulders painfully. "I cannot do it, I will not! I refuse! I physically cannot let you out there! It would kill me!"_

_His words rang throughout the room and Yuffie could not tear herself away from his eyes. A few moments before they had been offended and hurt, but now they were laced with indescribable pain and agony. His grip slowly loosened, and he bowed his head, "Please… do not ask that of me." He whispered to the floor. Her own eyes were filled with tears and she touched his chest, and he immediately responded. _

_Vincent pulled her against his chest, hard. He leaned down and buried his face into the crook of her neck, his lips moving against her skin. "Do not ask that of me, anything, please, but not that." Now his voice was barely audible and strangled. She stopped dead when she felt a few drops of moisture on her bare neck. _

"_Vincent?"_

"_I am sorry…" He choked, "I am so sorry that I yelled. I swear-"_

_Yuffie lifted his head so she could see his face, cutting him off. She silently wiped away the tears and held his face with both hands. "It's all right," She told him gently, "I understand."_

**End Flashback**

From there on in, Yuffie never talked to him about it. The sight of him reduced to almost nothing scared her out of her wits, and she never wanted to know what would become of him if she actually were gone.

So she watched from the window as the squads protected the streets. Vincent had placed himself and his squad at the pagoda, only leaving in the most dire situations to appease to her worry, but it only made her worry more when they began to leave every other night. Something needed to be done.

Anything. Anything... that would end this nightmare.

* * *

The sun had set.

The night was a clear one for the first time in a long while. The wind hardly blew, but the air was still frigid. The sounds of footsteps were soft and hushed as the general led his group forward through the dark and empty streets. For some reason, leaving this night had been harder for him than any other. He felt as if he would not be home for a long time, which confused him – his shift tonight would be no different from any of the others.

Perhaps it was the way Aerith hugged him before he left, completely letting him support her and begging him not to go all at once. The general left, feeling as if he had to tear himself away. The feeling had never disturbed him until now, never appearing until tonight.

It worried him.

What did this particular patrol have in store for him? Perhaps he was just getting anxious over nothing…

"Shade?"

"Yes?" Sephiroth replied, eyes flicking back over his shoulder to the Shadow that had spoken. "What is it?"

"Where are the rear guards?"

The general stopped and turned around to face his men. His glowing green eyes scanned over them quickly and he frowned. Sure enough, two Underlings were missing. He darted back up the street, looking for them. He began to wonder what could have happened to them, where they could have gone when everything seemed to come at him at once.

His katana was out in the blink of an eye as swords clashed together. Sephiroth easily overpowered his attacker as his men rushed in to fight the other rebels that had appeared to have rose from the darkness in the street. The Guild patrols were to only shackle the people they captured unless they drew blood… then they were entitled to do anything. When one man fell to a rebel's blade, everything became fair game. Sephiroth did not remember a thing after that, allowing the rage to take over. When more rebels appeared, the general snapped to attention. Taking a quick look around, he noticed that there was no way in the name of ShinRa that they could do this alone. Raising a whistle to his lips, he prepared to summon help from one of the nearby Guild patrols, if they could hear his summons.

A rebel saw his chance.

Lunging forward, he sliced the general across the chest, causing the man to drop the whistle onto the dark cobblestones, a cry of pain slipping through his lips.

Men ran when they saw his fall, fleeing for their lives. The Nameless chased after them, leaving the general bleeding in the streets of a dying city.

* * *

Fists tightened as a group of seven walked down the streets, eyes peeled and ready to go. The streets of the lower market were too quiet for a Friday night. This was usually when some stupid teenagers decided they wanted to attract attention and see if they could get the Guild running in. They meant no harm – they just didn't think very much.

The fact that none of them had tried anything was worrying the fighter. The two Shadows at her back were starting to crumble under the stress, and the four Underlings had lost long ago. They all watched her with worried eyes, some with fear. When her own strength began to slip, she forced it up even stronger, determined to not let her guard down.

Despite her attempts, the attack rushed her. Soon she was a whirlwind of limbs, punching, swinging, kicking, and flipping throughout the market. Anything that knocked the enemy down, she did – even using one of the smaller rebels as a bowling ball. Spurred on by their Shade's actions, the Underlings and Shadows fought with all of their heart. But as the fighting drug on, the less energy there was to combat the enemy. When Tifa thought all hope was lost, a gunshot was heard throughout the square. The rebels froze for a split second, allowing the other team to swamp over them, eliminating anyone that successfully evaded the black whirlwind.

Panting, Tifa leaned over, hands on her knees, catching her breath. Her men were exchanging potions, binding any wounds that may have been inflicted.

"How ya' holdin' up?" A bright voice asked, and wine colored eyes looked up to glare at Reno.

"What do you think?"

"Hey, I thought you were doin' a damn good job. You just looked like you needed a bit of help towards the end, but amazing job. Glad that I'm not one of these guys," Reno pointed out, jerking this thumb to the unconscious men on the ground. "If I was, I would have one hell of a headache when I finally came around."

Tifa couldn't help but smile, straightening up. "I hope you've got enough cuffs on you."

"Plenty, babe, plenty." He grinned, grabbing a pair and placing them on the nearest man, locking them before moving to the next one.

: - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - :

Vincent looked up, seeing Tifa and Reno walk in, ready to give their report for their patrol. He nodded, marking down the total losses and captures. For every name he wrote down, his heart ripped. That was one more family that would learn that one of their loved ones would never return home. When they were done was the time that Aerith burst into the room.

Her worried emerald eyes fixed upon Tifa, her hands clenched together. "Did you see Sephiroth?"

Reno frowned, looking back at Vincent. "He hasn't come in?"

The flower girl's face paled, and Tifa rushed forward before she crumpled to the ground. "He's still out there!" She wailed. "They've got him!"

"Calm down, Aerith." Vincent said, his deep voice cutting through her hysteria. "I am going to find him."

"Oh no you're not!" Tifa retorted, "Send out a party – Yuffie will have my hide if I let you out."

"Tell her that you were not to blame. Have her talk to me if she needs to." The gunman replied, sighing. He walked toward the balcony and opened it, letting Chaos' wings burst from his back with a muted cry of pain. The demon looked back at the group and amber eyes closed, and the regal black head nodded to them once, the gravely voice coming from behind white fangs. "I will bring him back. Alive."

* * *

Sephiroth crawled to the sidewalk and leaned down to grab a handgun from his boot. Gasping in pain, he raised it above his head, pulling the trigger. The fire that ripped through his body and chest almost made him scream, the kick from the gun jolting his bleeding body. He grimaced, clutching the gun even tighter, gasping in pain.

One shot was for location, a second for a medic, and a third, and final one, for help. The general almost cried at the thought of sending off another shot. His arm shaking, he let off another two shots in rapid succession, letting a cry of pain burst from his lips as the gun clattered to the ground, tears rolling down the general's face. The pain that was etched into every part of his body was never ending. The blood from his wound was everywhere, a burgundy streak from where he had collapsed in the street.

The general had never felt this kind of pain in his life. The feeling of his chest being ripped apart and burned, stabbed with thousands upon thousands of needles was something that he never dreamed could happen all at once. He was trained to block it all out and find a way to get help, but it never even occurred to him to actually apply it. He thought of the steps he was supposed to take, but could not bring himself to even think that he was fine, for he knew he wasn't. He wasn't going to be around much longer to worry about it if someone didn't find him quick.

The things that raced through his mind and through his labored breathing would have never occurred to him while on the brink of death and utter insanity. He thought about her.

He could imagine her emerald eyes waiting, looking through the dark glass, hoping for a glimmer of his silver hair or long katana. Her brown hair would be in its usual braid, tossed over her shoulder where she could fiddle with the ends in impatience. Her delicate hands would play with a single strand for hours while her body sat completely still, waiting for him. He pictured her like that right now, knowing that he was strong and he would return home.

Sephiroth opened his eyes and grunted, trying to move. The attempt just shot more fire through his veins, causing him to cry out again. He lay back down on the sidewalk, panting and crying silently all of the while. Aerith was waiting for him, expecting him to walk back up that walk and embrace her, taking her up in his arms and spinning her, laughing all the while. The general's eyes snapped open, a fire burning behind his glowing green irises. He was not going to let her down. Not now, not ever.

The sound of beating wings kept his mind focused, but it took a moment for him to realize just what that meant. The Demon was looking for him. He tried to call out to his savior, but the beast flew away, continuing his search. Sephiroth scrambled for the gun and struggled to his feet, gritting his teeth, ignoring the pain in every part of his body. He stumbled into the street, gun raised as he shot off another bullet, moving on pure adrenaline. The beating of wings became louder and rushed, signaling Chaos' rapid return to the spot. Sephiroth shot again, and the sound became a whirlwind.

Chaos touched down, running toward his fallen friend. The general was turned over and amber eyes were fixed upon a pale, waxy face. Sephiroth sputtered a bit, a relieved smile coming across his face. The sight made the demon's blood go cold. A thin trail of burgundy came from the general's lips, and his voice was soft and raspy.

"I… knew… you'd… find me…"

* * *

The casket was ready, the wood in position. The cremation and spreading of the ashes was to happen in mere hours. Wutai was watching, sorrow filling their hearts, weighing them down. No one wanted to attend, fearing the sight of those closest to the one that was laid upon the pyre.

The pained, scarred, and broken faces were ones that haunted their memories. The tears of women rang in their ears, and the sights were burned into their mind's eye.

This was a day… never to be forgotten.

Nor were the people that they remembered.

* * *

A/N: You have all permission to kill me. xD

Go ahead, I really don't mind.

I'm gone for a month, and I give you this. I can just see you sharpening your swords. Literally. ((eyes reviewers warily))

In a sick and twisted way, I am so proud of myself right now. I'm really surprised that this chapter turned out as wonderful as I think it did (and no doubt you all are disgusted at this), but oh well. I know what the next two chapters harbor. xD

I appologize for any errors - I didn't edit this chapter like I should have. I was just that excited to let you all read it. I did a quick read through, so hopefully all of the minor spelling is fixed.

**Silvan Arrow  
Coquettish Siren  
Artemis-chan of Redwing  
TOWTWUKER  
DragonessWarrior  
RoyalFanatic  
Just Jill  
x line-chan x  
RedRoseInADarkAlley  
Black-Dragon-Rock  
saharasfury  
The Squabbit  
Aveira  
Lord Makura  
Tishannia  
Shadow of Darkness 22  
Alex the Wolf-Mero  
UnrequitedxLove**

If yelling at me would make you feel any better, please, do not hesitate to email me. HOWEVER: Don't flame. Deep, _deep_, **deep** down you know you love meh!

**- Vincent's Angel of Chaos**


	25. Bring On The Night

**Ninja and the Demon – Chapter 25**

_Bring On The Night

* * *

_

The casket stood ready, thousands of people watching. Each member of the funeral wore their different expressions, ones with pain, disbelief, and agony. The soon-to-be Lord and Lady of Wutai looked at the dark wood blankly, all ready accepting what rested in that casket. Tifa looked sadly, having accepted the truth when her friend and her lover did. Cloud was as blank as ever, almost looking as if he didn't care. Aerith was quiet, hands clasped before her and her head bowed. Her tears no longer needed to be shed. She told herself that she could make it through this; she was strong.

Security was unbelievably tight, numerous guards placed strategically in the crowd. Vincent stood with Yuffie on the dais, both of them wearing black and looking grim and a little worse for wear. Everyone quieted down as their princess stepped forward to deliver the eulogy, but the silence was short lived. A young man, identity unknown, but his threat was not, burst out of the crowd, pointing an accusing finger.

"This girl is no more fit than a chocobo to rule this city! She runs away from her home when we need her the most and brings back an outsider! This man is not Ven Hotaru! General Hotaru is dead! And soon, this so called '_princess'_ will be too!"

Screams erupted from the mourners as random people drew swords, slicing at anyone that came within reach. Everything stopped at the sound of a gunshot, and Vincent's eyes locked on Yuffie's head as she fell backward into his arms. A spreading stain across her abdomen signaled that she had been hit. The fires of hatred and rage burned brightly in his eyes as Aerith took her from his arms, beginning to chant a healing spell. He stood up, firing off shot after shot. Rebel men fell, and he saw the man whom had spoken. Without even thinking, he pointed and shot.

That's when everything stopped. The rebels stopped to look up at him, and were instantly filled with fear. The one thing they never learned was to anger a demon.

"What a disgrace you have become!" Vincent cried, his voice growing in volume with the help of Chaos. "What a pathetic excuses for people of this city! You turn against your own for not reason at all, blaming each other when neither of you have committed any crime! You cut each other down even though you are brothers! What has become of this city I was once proud to call my home?"

Silence rang out through the square. No one moved for a while, and Vincent took another deep breath. "If you wish me to even think about forgiving you, throw down your weapons, now!"

And everyone did so. Rebel swords dropped, and they came forward, kneeling at the bottom of the dais. The gunman looked at each of them, each shuddering under his blood red gaze. Then, out of the crowd a man with a long sniper's gun emerged. He let his gun drop and his eyes stayed trained on the ground at his feet. He could feel the crimson eyes on him, and he started to shake. "Are you the one that shot?" Vincent asked, his deadly quiet voice ringing throughout the square. The man nodded in terror, shaking, digging his nails into the palm of his hand.

He knew that this man was Ven Hotaru, and to what lengths the man would go to find him. A story of him tracking down a man through the dark streets for days was one, and the idea of taking people hostage was something that the general did everyday. Not wanting his family harmed or being subjected to torture, the sniper came forward. He did not even have to worry about pain, his life ended quickly and without any warning.

"You shot her." Vincent snarled, raising his gun, "And for that, you will never be forgiven."

The sniper crumpled to the cobblestone streets. Guards had come to take away the other rebel fighters, planning to throw them into jail for their crimes, possibly even more. With the guards calming the civilians down as best as they could, Vincent slowly turned back around to look at his comrades, his crimson eyes still ablaze. Upon seeing their startled faces, the fire in them immediately died. Crimson trailed down Yuffie's form, and she smiled weakly up at him.

A wave of relief washed over him, every cell in his body screaming. His knees gave out and he collapsed down next to her, gathering her into his arms despite Aertih's protests. His head found the crook of her neck, burying it there and inhaling the scent of her skin. Her hand lifted to rub his shoulder and play with his hair, acting like soft, reassuring whispers in his ear. "It's all right," She croaked.

Before Vincent could reply, another gunshot was fired. He roared as the bullet clipped his shoulder, and his crimson eyes darted behind him, promising a painful death for the shooter. The man stood there, gun smoking, eyes ablaze in fury. The gunman laid Yuffie back down under the watch of the his friends and drew his own gun, Chaos' wings erupting from his back with a sickening crunch all at once. People screamed and darted out of the way, running into the Guild. The various members quickly spotted the rebels, charging in and disposing of them before they began to attack once again. The dungeons of Wutai were to be filled tonight.

Vincent took off after the shooter, making sure that no soul would ever pay him for his services again. Anyone who had the guts to defy him soon met the same fate.

: - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - :

Yuffie stood up with the help of Tifa and Cloud, determined to do this. She knew that Vincent wanted to be there, but she was extremely tired from Aerith's spells and was guaranteed to collapse at any second. Also, people would not want to stand here and wait any longer. Due to the fact that Vincent was currently carrying out some business, Yuffie was on her own on this one. Starting the eulogy for those still there, the square soon forgot what had happened moments before, some listening to her speech and applying it to the loved ones that were at their feet. Many cried for the people that would never walk the Planet again, all united in pain.

Upon finishing her duty, the young ninja slowly turned around, grabbing the torch that was meant to light the pyre. Pausing for only a second, Yuffie took a deep breath. The action made her stomach hurt, which she winced and pressed a hand against. Tifa put her hands on her shoulders, Cloud putting a hand on her waist, ready to catch her and the torch. Aerith watched the pyre in mute silence, ready for this to be done and over with.

But before either of them could make another move, the pyre burst into flames. The three stumbled back, the torch having fallen into the blaze. A dark from landed before the fire, bending down to scoop Yuffie into its arms. Tifa smiled at the familiar face of Chaos, Cloud giving the demon a nod. The ninja buried herself into his embrace, ready to go before the tears came.

Many in the crowd gasped in shock, and Chaos turned to face them. Chuckling to himself, he raised his growling bass voice. "Never fear. I vow to watch over you with my life. No one will ever threaten a single person within these walls again as long as I live." Crouching down low, he took off into the air, his wings making a soft boom, sending embers flying into the crowd. No one paid any attention, all of their eyes gazing up at the sky in wonder.

Their Demon was real, and he was here to stay.

Yuffie looked back down at the shrinking inferno, gray eyes sad. "Goodbye, Daddy. I love you… I always will."

* * *

**Later...**

* * *

Upon this day, the atmosphere was bright. Upon this day, no tears of sadness were shed. The endless salvo of bells sounded over the surrounding countryside, canvassing everything in peace.

Wutai had a new Lord and Lady at last.

One could feel the joy and excitement of the city once they stepped inside. By following the red-carpeted streets, one would find themselves at the steps of a grand temple decorated in millions of white, red, and golden streamers, thousands of petals of matching colors littering the streets. Many people crowded around the structure, eager to catch a glimpse of the wedding party.

Up the gleaming marble steps and through the dark cherry doors was a room filled with candle upon thousands of candles. The cumulative light shone off of everyone's skin, sending little bursts of light all throughout the wide space. The organ began to play, and the multitude of people rose and turned toward the back.

The wedding party at the altar was like a picture perfect memory come alive. The two had not chosen a best man and maid of honor, unable to chose between their friends. The women wore gowns of bright red, the straps hanging off of their shoulders like colored water. The smooth fabric clung to their figures, flaring out at the bottom, swishing pleasantly with every step. Their varying shades of brown locks were piled onto their heads, diamond pins holding it all up. The bouquets they held consisted of white and yellow roses, fully bloomed and trimmed thanks to a very dear florist. The men of the party wore all black from head to toe. Black boots, black slacks, black shirt, and a long sleeved black coat. The high collar covered their necks, and the coat reached to their knees. But the one that drew everyone's eyes was the groom himself.

Garbed in traditional Wutain dress, he looked every inch of the man that he was about to become. Long, scarlet robes accented his crimson eyes while a golden shirt and embroidery gave a glow to his deathly pale skin. The sleeves draped over his arms like cascading fire, the glow of the candles making the colors dance. Midnight tresses hung down well past his shoulders, a wide, golden circlet around his brow, holding them in place. His hand and claw were clasped behind his back, ready and waiting.

Then the doors opened, revealing to him the beauty of life, and the reason for his existence.

Wave after wave of white silk clung to her slim figure, making her look like the angel that she was. Millions of drops of the sun were sown into the bodice, becoming fewer and fewer the further ones eyes trailed down her form. The strapless gown clung to her slim figure like a second skin, accenting her curves. As if he needed a dress to show him what he had all ready seen and memorized with his fingers. Sheer silk hung from her neck, elbows, and wrists in one long train like a wave of glimmering gold. Her veil was white; the small tiara that held it up was the same color and brightness of her groom's circlet. In her hands, the bride carried bright red roses, fully bloomed and at their prime.

The music floated over the sanctuary, filling every heart with joy and awe. The groom had not laid eyes on his bride for a week as custom decreed - giving her a chance to fully recover from her injuries - and he was easily the most stunned. His crimson eyes widened, and his hands moved to rest at his sides. Coming down the aisle was the best person that had ever come into his life, and this was the day he was allowed to show it.

Once the bride reached the altar, the music stopped. He took her hand and kissed it, leading her up to the priest. The service was not remembered by any of the wedding party and would be captured in the massive amount of pictures that would be taken after the service. The vows came, and each and everyone in the temple cried. The only thing that lingered in everyone's mind was the groom's words:

"I cannot begin to describe how dark and uninviting my world was for those thirty years. When I arrived at the manor for the first time, I was incredibly naïve. Unable to recognize and correct my mistakes, I paid the ultimate price. For thirty years I was trapped inside a body that was not my own, looking at the world with broken eyes. I was convinced that I would remain like that forever, thinking that no one had the heart that I lacked.

"But someone did – and they collapsed on my doorstep one rainy night in the most unusual form. You. I fought against my better judgment and let you stay, allowing you into where no one had been in decades. At last, you freed me from my prison and showed me who I could be. Everyone helped me so much, but I knew that there was no possible way that I could leave you without completely losing myself."

Lowering his voice so only she could hear, he placed his hand on her neck, tracing a thumb over her cheek. "You are the single thing that I cannot live without, Yuffie. You gave me my heart back, the only one that can hold it, and the only one that can ever take it away."

* * *

The reception was wild – everyone was intoxicated from the charged atmosphere. Yuffie had changed into a short, slim white dress and Vincent to pants, sleeveless shirt, and a long, red coat; better choices of garments for a celebration. The look on their faces was one of pure happiness and peace, both of them grateful for the time they now had to spend together. 

Many people retired after a while, but the newlyweds stayed, planning on staying in Wutai for their honeymoon. It was an unspoken fear between them that something would happen in their absence. In respect, the party for them was going to be immense. The string players were long gone, letting the "good" music echo throughout the hall. When Yuffie thought she was safe from the sounds of an orchestra, a slow song came on, the soft strumming of a guitar coming out of the speakers. Before she could groan or protest in any way, Vincent grabbed her hand and pulled her gently towards the floor. Once she learned of the destination, she began to haul him to the polished wood a few feet in front of them. The groom smiled, knowing that Yuffie loved to dance, and that he would rather pass. Any invitation to dance on his part was never to be refused. A deep tenor voice followed the couple as they began to the gliding steps of a waltz.

_It's twilight and the streetlights are coming on  
I'm in a stream of cars  
On this boulevard, heading home  
I can hardly wait  
For you to make what went wrong today seem right  
It's been a long, hard day  
So bring on the night _

No one spoke as the couple glided over the polished wood; the only sound was Vincent's coat fluttering out behind him. The gunman's steps were sure for one whom hadn't danced for a while, and in truth, he was slightly surprised he remembered. It must have been the dancing they did at the mansion, he mused.

Yuffie spun away from him, only to glide gently back into his embrace. He somehow found it difficult to let her go, but released his sure hold as the music went on. The though of being her husband at last was something that Vincent could hardly grasp. Finally, he was allowed to be with her without running away, without hiding. But with that freedom came a price. Now he was bound to Wutai once more, sworn to protect her until the day of his death. The last thing he wanted to do was rule a city, but now he had no choice. The longer he thought about it, the more he came to realize that he was never alone with this – Yuffie would be standing right beside him.

_Bring on the night  
__And pull down the shades  
__Lock the world outside  
__And throw the key away  
__Turn on the feelings  
__And turn out the lights  
__Let's call it a day  
__And bring on the night_

Shackled to his fate, Vincent offered a genuine smile to Yuffie and pulled her closer, cutting off the fluid motions of their dance. His arms wrapped around her waist, holding her close to his chest. She automatically placed her hands upon his broad chest, head over his heart. A claw drifted upward to rest on her upper back, a pair of smiling lips hiding in her hair. The comforting smell of her satin locks soothed his nerves, the essence of apples making him sleepy. The knowledge that he would wake up to that smell the next morning, and the morning after, made him smile even wider.

_From nine to five  
It's the same old grind all week long  
And the only thing  
That keeps me sane is coming home  
When the sun goes down  
You know how to set things right  
Let's put the day behind us  
And bring on the night_

Vincent's crimson eyes closed as he and his wife slowly danced to the gentle music. The feel of her in his arms seemed as if she had always been there, even before she had stumbled into his life. No matter how he felt, no matter what happened, no matter how the world was, one smile from Yuffie could instantly cure anything and everything. The promise that she had made to stand by him and welcome him home, to him, was _the_ reason to come home. Without something or someone, Vincent was a wandering soul. Fate could drive him to the brink of insanity and all he needed was a few gentle words and a caress to bring him back.

_Bring on the night  
And pull down the shades  
Lock the world outside  
And throw the key away  
Turn on the feelings  
And turn out the lights  
Let's call it a day  
And bring on the night_

Many pairs of eyes watched the couple dancing on the floor, many wearing smiles, touched and elated to see their princess become a queen. But only four of them knew the depth of their devotion, and only one man pondered about following in their footsteps.

The silver-haired general ran his thumb back and forth across the back of his love's hand. Glowing green eyes were no longer on the couple, and instead, focused on the woman next to him. She looked up, and her emerald orbs met his face. A beaming smile was given to him, and he smiled back. She had been so worried… so worried for him. He had been taken aback, and nearly cried at the thought of being loved so much. How was a mystery to him, and he didn't want to let her down…

_Waking up and standing one day, pulling out his IV, he found clothes and the door, making his way to where he knew the others would be staying. The air had been frighteningly cold, making him feel like he would die instantly. But the knowledge that Aerith was waiting for him, Sephiroth set out, stumbling toward the pagoda. Upon his arrival almost thirty minutes later, he caught himself on the rail, gasping. His chest was on fire, his body shaking from the cold, and his vision swimming. But nothing stopped a general on a mission._

_Flinging back the door, he stumbled inside, nearly crashing into the wall. Vincent ran down the steps, gun cocked, fully expecting someone that wasn't an injured friend. Before he could even take a step, Sephiroth was up and pushing past him, racing up the steps. Aerith looked up from the couch she was sitting on with the rest of their friends, she gasped, her cup of tea crashing to the floor. Jumping from the futon, she ran over to him, crashing into his chest. The force of the impact sent his weak body straight to the floor, causing a flash of sheer pain all throughout his body. He let something out between a groan and a scream, and she quickly moved, crying._

_But he held her in an iron grip, face in her hair._

"_I'm here, always, I promise." Was all he said._

The a feather's touch on his cheek brought him back from the depths of her green eyes, noticing that they held a look of worry. He smiled reassuringly, letting her know that he was fine.

"Do you want to get some sleep?"

Sephiroth knew better than to fake his health – Aerith could see right through him anyway. "Yes… that would be great."

The flower girl put an arm around his waist, something he learned he just had to get used to. "All right then, let's go home."

_Let's call it a day  
__And bring on the night

* * *

_

Even though the night belonged to them, Yuffie and Vincent did not attempt to entice the other into the bedroom. Instead, Vincent stood on their balcony while she made a few adjustments to something in her sketchbook. Her focus was entirely upon that little piece of paper, leaving her open to observation. As much as he would like to deny it, the gunman was very interested about what she was so engrossed in upon their wedding night. As she finished her task, he looked away, pretending to be off somewhere else.

Yuffie sighed nervously, and his brow furrowed. What was wrong? She left her pad open on the table, retreating back into their bedroom silently, a soft click of the door the only hint that she had left the room.

Vincent's keen ears caught it easily, causing him to turn around questioningly. His crimson orbs instantly found the open book, and they quickly scanned the room for the sign of a trap or watching eyes. Deeming is safe to enter, he slipped inside and peered down at the drawing. He frowned, noticing another piece of paper atop the drawing, and he moved it slightly with his human hand so he could read the lacy, Wutain script.

**Bring on the night  
And pull down the shades  
Lock the world outside  
And throw the key away  
Turn on the feelings  
And turn out the lights  
Let's call it a day…**

Vincent instantly recognized the song, having danced to it only a few hours prior. But he was puzzled about why it was here… in Yuffie's sketchbook. He also noticed that the last line of the chorus was missing, making him even more lost. Was something wrong?

'**_Move the paper aside.'_** Chaos suggested with an obvious chuckle, and Vincent felt like rolling his eyes. When he did so, his breath caught in his throat.

The most beautiful drawing lay before him, the charcoal upon it creating lines and curves of the utmost perfection. There was no trace of color anywhere on the cream page, just shades of grays and blacks. More lacy and elegant Wutain script was written in the top, left hand corner, and Vincent bent a little closer to read it properly. Any breath that remained in his chest left in a great whoosh as his deep voice slowly formed the words, his tongue remembering their sweet taste. **"… And bring on the night…"**

Two forms were lying in a bed, a sheet covering both of them up to their waists. Her arm and the man's bare chest hid the woman's open torso. Her only visible hand, her right, rested directly over his scarred heart and her face was at peace. His right hand pressed her head into the hollow of his neck, long digits tangled in her dark hair. His own midnight hair hung in his face, fanning out behind him on the pillow. But the give away to the pair's identity was the golden claw that was clasped tightly and possessively around the woman's tiny waist.

Vincent brought a human hand up to his mouth, his eyes starring at the portrait of him and his wife in amazement and awe. He had never been so surprised in his life. Never before had he dreamed of something so… unexpected, so wonderful, that he was speechless. His head slowly lifted, crimson eyes looking at the closed door of the bedroom. He took a step forward, leaving the drawing behind, his pace quickening the closer he became. Once he reached the sliding door he wrenched it back, making a rather loud bang.

Yuffie looked over her shoulder in surprise, startled by the sudden noise. A sheer robe covered her body and only reached the middle of her tan thighs. The door was shut and Vincent was standing behind her, hand and claw on her hipbones before Yuffie could even form the first syllable of his name. She leaned back into him, her eyes drifting closed. "Did you see it?"

He nodded against her shoulder, kissing a patch of bare skin. "I have." He breathed, coaxing the flimsy fabric away from her satin skin.

She pulled the robe tighter aground her body, smiling at his attempts. The annoyed growl that followed made her giggle and her smile grow more pronounced. "Yes, Vincent?" She asked, her voice sweet.

"Why must you tease me?" He whispered in her ear, slowly easing the fabric off of her shoulders. "I saw it… you wanted me to, did you not?"

"I did," She admitted, allowing him to remove the garment only from her shoulders, stopping him before he got too carried away. He barely contained his annoyance, which made her smirk. "Did you like it?"

Vincent smiled into her hair, his nose and lips skimming down the side of her neck and shoulder. He began to hum, his bass voice rumbling deep in his chest. He was going to get what he wanted, though he lauded her efforts to keep him at bay. He let Yuffie go, and she almost gasped at the loss of warmth and contact. He undid the buttons of his long coat, tossing the fine garment carelessly onto a nearby chair, displaying his bare, pale arms. He winked at her, a rare sight, and his humming becoming words.

"**Bring on the night…"**

"Oh please, Vincent, don't tell me you're actually going to-" Yuffie laughed, turning around to face him, but he cut her off.

"**And pull down the shades…"** The gunman rumbled, sending shivers down his wife's spine. His long legs carried him swiftly toward the window. His human hand pulled the string, closing the open blinds with a sharp snap. She laughed again, watching him head toward the door.

"**Lock the world outside…"** was followed by the click of a lock.

With that sound, everything seemed to freeze. No moonlight came in through the closed blinds, and their eyes immediately adjusted. After a few moments, Yuffie could see his silhouette in the feeble candlelight next to her. His midnight hair had been let down and rested regally upon his marble shoulders. His golden claw remained dim, the long digits looking like caressing knives. She took a step forward, itching to trace and appreciate the contours of his muscles. The garment that covered her body slipped a little, but she held it tightly in front of her with one hand.

Vincent slowly turned around, and his crimson eyes were dark and glinting, sending another shiver down Yuffie's spine. Flesh and gold reached to pull the offending black tunic over his head, letting it fall to the floor next to him.

"**And throw the key away…"**

His voice startled Yuffie, making her jump, which he smirked at. She then realized how incredibly… sexy he looked when he did that, and yelped when his arm snatched her waist, pulling her flush against him. Now Yuffie could trace every pattern possible on his smooth and sculpted chest. Following the contours of his stomach with her fingers, he let out a groan, which just made her grin evilly. Seeing this, his claw grabbed her hands, holding them above her head. At her cry of protest, the gunman just grinned.

"**Turn on the feelings…"** Vincent whispered, his voice dropping significantly. It took all of her willpower to not melt right there. She stepped closer instead, if that was even possible, molding herself into him, body perfectly fitting his. Crimson eyes closed, and the grip on her hands loosened. Before she could make her move, her hands wrists were caught again.

"**And turn out the lights… let's call it a day…"** Came the next lines, and Vincent dropped her wrists for real this time. His golden claw cupped her cheek, the long thumb resting against her cheek like a soothing blade. Gray eyes locked on crimson as they came closer. They fluttered when he stopped, his face mere inches away from hers. His breath tickled her face as he spoke one last time:

"**And bring on the night."

* * *

**

**Oh my goodness. **

That's it, I'm done. I am so proud of myself I have no idea where to start.

No, no, no… before you freak out, there's an epilogue, which has all ready been written. Gotta love me, don't ya'? lol

This may sound really twisted, but I busted out laughing for every review you guys left me. Most of you though that I killed Sephiroth, and I couldn't help it – it was funny! I can't believe you guys would actually think I would do it… I may have it LOOK like it, but the chances of me ACTUALLY doing it are so slim to none that there isn't a number for it. xD

I love all of you, truly, I do. You've been a great inspiration for me, and I'm so lucky to have such loving reviewers. I plan on a sequel, though I'm not sure when it will appear on FF net.

**saharasfury  
****Lord Makura  
****The Squabbit  
****for always x  
****Coquettish Siren  
****Silvan Arrow  
****x line-chan x  
****Shirox  
****Just Jill  
****sparzelli  
****Tishannia  
****losttoxichope  
****RedRoseInADarkAlley  
****otaku dreamer  
****coughkouichicough  
****Miss.Valentine71  
****UnrequitedxLove  
****Artemis-chan of Redwing**

**Some of you just make me laugh. xD**

**- Vincent's Angel of Chaos**


	26. Epilogue

**Ninja and the Demon**

_Epilogue

* * *

_

Nothing had moved in that old house since they left so many months ago. The iron gates had rusted yet again, squeaking on their hinges as they moved back and forth in the gentle breeze, the chain and lock around them preventing them from going far. The trees stood up straight, their mature branches supporting millions of golden orange leaves. The people of the city must have planted and cared for them in their absence, for they thrived in the crisp autumn wind. The mansion looked as elegant and majestic as before, a marvel in the bright setting. The bricks seemed to shine, and the windows were clear. It was in much better condition than it had been before she came, and so was he.

The gates swung open and groaned in protest once he had unlocked them, which she winced at. He wrapped an arm around her wider waist, slowly walking her up the path, their friends at their side.

"Well, I'm surprised that it still looks like this." One commented, blue eyes looking at the parlor, which looked no different, perhaps even better, than when they had left it.

"I'm happy that no one decided to pull some legal junk." The woman next to him said, hand on her hip.

A silver haired man shook his head. "It's legally owned, no need to worry. No one can barge in on private property without a warrant anyway."

She looked around, noticing the silent exit of a scarlet cloak. Slipping away from the group, she walked her heavy form down the hall, and nearly fainted at the sight of the grand staircase. They never looked this big before…

She made it up, at last, her instincts to only lead her to another one. Sucking it up, she put one foot in front of the other, reading the top before she even knew she had taken more than five steps. Discovering that she had done much better than she had expected, she let out a whoop of joy, startling the figure already in the attic. The tall man spun around, looking for the intruder upon his silent thoughts. When his deep red eyes caught her form, he relaxed with a sigh, a soft smile coming across his lips. It was quickly replaced with on of concern and alarm as he glided over, placing an arm around her shoulders and one on her round belly. "Did you walk up all of those stairs?"

The woman looked back up at him and smiled, taping his nose. "I did. I'm fine, don't worry, Vince."

The gunman let out a slow breath, shaking his head. "You should take it easy. The doctor gave me strict orders to not let you overexert yourself."

"They advise you, not tell you what to do, you know that."

Vincent frowned. "That head doctor scares me sometimes."

She punched his arm lightly, laughing. "Now you're pulling my leg. Nobody scares you." Vincent did not reply – arguing with a pregnant woman would not end well. "What are you doing up here anyway?" She asked, leaning her head on his chest.

"Thinking." He replied after a while, his human hand tracing random patterns over his wife's belly.

She watched him and it clicked. "Are you ready?" Yuffie asked.

Vincent sighed. "Of course not. I never dreamed that I would ever be a father." Every time he was asked, he gave the same answer. She had just learned to accept it. It would most definitely change when the baby arrived. Pressuring him would never get her anywhere.

Deciding to change the direction of the conversation, she looked up curiously, wondering what he had been looking at before her exclamation of triumph disrupted him. "Vincent, what are you _really_ doing up here?"

Her husband was silent for a while, but he eventually responded. "Do you remember the rose?"

Yuffie blinked, furrowing her brow. "A… rose? I kind of have a picture of that… what was it for again?"

Vincent smiled down at her, shaking his head. "It showed me how long I had left before I was Chaos forever. It was my timer, mocking me."

She nodded slowly, it all coming back to her. "Was it red?" She asked.

"Yes… roses tend to be red, Yuffie." He said, looking down at her strangely.

"Then why is that one white?" She asked, pointing to the one floating above the table. "You know, Vince, roses _can_ be different colors…"

Vincent decided to leave that subject alone. "I am not sure quiet yet. I assume it's because the curse is broken."

"It's been broken for a while though…"

The gunman shrugged wrapping both of his arms around his wife. "Perhaps it just needed some time to change."

Yuffie slipped out of his hold, which made him frown, he had rather been enjoying her warmth. She plucked the rose from its upright position and gasped. Vincent was by her side in an instant, and took it from her delicate fingers. His own eyes widened and his breath was low and swift. "It's glass…"

"How do you explain that one?" Yuffie asked, giggling as she wrapped her own arms around Vincent's waist.

The gunman frowned. Glass symbolized being fragile… but why did the rose become glass? For that matter, why was it white? White was purity and innocence, just like Yuffie…

It all clicked then. In plant terms, the rose **was** Yuffie. It was a reminder to him that even though Yuffie was strong and beautiful, she needed to be protected no matter what. He smiled softly, letting the rose rest back on the table, where it immediately moved back to its floating position. That he did not understand either, but it did not matter to him much.

'_**You've got it, Valentine. Appreciate what has been given to you.' **_Chaos told him gently, stirring in the back of his host's mind.

Vincent looked back down at his curious wife with a warm smile. _'You are right.'_ He replied, _'Thank you, Chaos.'_

"Vince? Is something wrong?" Yuffie asked, noting the far away look in his blood red eyes.

He focused his eyes back on her face and shook his head. "No, I'm fine, Yuffie." He assured her, rubbing her back and kissing the top of her head. The smile she offered him melted his heart all over again, and he placed another kiss on her cheek.

He was extremely grateful that she had collapsed on his doorstep almost a year ago. If the doctors were correct, their child's birth would fall in the same week that Yuffie first arrived at the mansion. His revelations were interrupted by Yuffie's content sigh and the way that she buried her face in his chest, followed by a round of smothered giggles.

Vincent, prepared for her sudden mood swing, pulled back to investigate. "What is it, Yuffie?"

"I just realized something," She explained, stopping her increasing laughter before it got too out of control. "I finished Aerith and Sephiroth's drawing the other day."

"Their drawing?" He repeated, red eyes confused, "What are you talking about?"

"You know the sketch of us?" She asked, waiting for his nod before she continued. "I did one for them – something similar."

A slow smile split his pale face. "Did you really? Are there lyrics on this one as well?"

"There are," the pregnant ninja admitted, resting her head back on Vincent's chest. "It's the chorus of the song that Aerith was singing on the car ride over here."

The gunman smiled; all of the women were singing that song. Thank goodness Vincent was driving, seeing as Sephiroth would have lost all patience and turned off the radio, claiming that since he was the driver, he was in control of the dashboard. He loved the flower girl and her friends as well, but he did not love their voices. Cloud had fallen asleep next to Tifa in the back, having not gotten much sleep the night before, so he was sparred the rather unique recording session. "I can't wait to see their reaction. Where did you leave it?"

"In Sephiroth's book that he's reading with her."

Vincent chuckled, walking Yuffie over to the door of the attic. "You naughty little thing."

* * *

Sephiroth was completely nervous and jumpy, though he would never show it. Well, that was a lie – he was a nervous wreck right about now. Today was the day that he was finally going to suck it up and admit that he couldn't live without Aerith next to him. Everyone knew it, everyone was waiting for it, and he wouldn't leave them, or her, hanging any longer. But it was only a matter of actually… doing it. Sephiroth liked to think that he was romantic and all, but he couldn't force himself to come up with anything unique but sweet at all. Instead, he was pacing, pathetically, in front of her bedroom door. It irritated him to no end that he just couldn't knock on her door, but when he thought about lifting a hand to knock, his muscles tensed up. This was just going to be a long day, he could already tell.

**_You wait, wanting this world  
To let you in  
And you stand there  
_****_A frozen light  
In dark and empty streets_**

Aerith sighed as she turned off the shower, stepping out and wrapping a soft, cream towel around her body. Her hair was up in a bun with a few stray hairs plastered to her wet face, but she didn't mind. It wasn't as if someone was going to burst in and see her. She dried off slowly, humming a random tune that she could barely remember - probably something they'd heard in the car – as she wound a robe around her dry body, realizing that she had failed to bring a new set of clothes out with her.

The flower girl opened her bathroom door and headed over to suitcase that she had failed to unpack as of yet, and dug around for a nice skirt and blouse when she caught her book lying out on her bed. Frowning, she knew that she hadn't done any reading since she had gotten here, set her clothes down and walked over to it, tracing her fingers over the title. It was the book Sephiroth was reading with her, much to his enjoyment. She preferred to read alone, but she was slowly growing to love it when his deep voice spoke the words quietly and into her ear, especially in a romantic portion, making her giggle. He really knew how to be a charmer at times. He was even better when he wasn't thinking about it too – when he tried to plan it never went right, but to Aerith's amusement.

Tilting her head to the side, her emerald eyes fell onto a random page sticking out, knowing that it wasn't their bookmark, a random receipt from a restaurant they ate at a few days back, and opened the book.

_**You smile hiding behind  
**__**A God-given face  
**__**But I know you're so much more  
**__**Everything they ignore  
**_**_Is all that I need to believe_**

A hand flew to her mouth as she looked at the drawing there, instantly knowing it to be Yuffie's work. She had never seen one of her friend's drawings before, but her name in the corner was obviously hers. After all, she was the only one of them that knew how to write in Wutain, except probably Vincent.

The two of them sat on the top step of the porch, the door of the mansion behind them in the background. They faced each other, Aerith with her left hand behind her and slightly to the side for support, and Sephiroth's just bare inches away from her, the gap between their knees allowing their almost touching fingers to show through. Her right hand was clutched to her chest with her head titled to the side, eyes half closed. Her usual brown braid as lying flat across her back and was slowly sliding down her right shoulder. Sephiroth's right hand was placed mere inches from her left on the ground, and his left hand was gracefully laid upon her cheek, thumb resting on the corner of her mouth. His silver hair was tucked behind his ears, but a few strands had escaped their confinements and hung in his dancing eyes. Their faces were almost touching, just a breath away from connecting at last. The rays of the sun shinned around them, casting shadows on the faded wood around them, putting them in an almost blinding glow. The cursive writing above the railing off to the right of Sephiroth stood out against the dark window, giving the drawing a more personal touch.

Aerith's lips began to move, singing the lines that were written only an hour before.

"_**You're the only one I ever believed in  
**__**The answer that could never be found  
**__**The moment you decided to let love in  
**__**Now I'm banging on the door of an angel  
**__**The end of fear is where we begin  
**_**_The moment we decided to let love in"_**

_**I wish  
**__**Wishing for you to find your way  
**__**And I'll hold on for all you need  
**_**_That's all we need to say_**

Sephiroth stopped his frantic pacing and took in a deep breath, the scar across his chest being pulled, making him wince. He had half a mind to scratch but knew that Aerith would probably pop out and yell at him for it. Not only would that be embarrassing, he would have to explain why he was in front of her door… and the surprise would be ruined, that much he knew. He ran a hand through his long, silver hair and looked hard at the door, practicing what he knew he was going to say just one more time…

"Aeirth, you have no idea how much the past few months mean to me… oh no, that's horrible…" He muttered, slapping his forehead. "Why must this be so hard?" He asked himself, clearly getting frustrated. "I should just be able to burst in there and say something… but why not?" Gritting his teeth, the general resumed his pacing.

Letting out a rather loud and agitated growl, he spun around to glare at the door even harder. He was just going to knock, say something, and propose. Nothing to it… he wouldn't let something as small as four words throw him off, no matter how powerful their meaning. He gripped the ring tight in his hand and he began to repeat his over-practiced speech one more time:

"Aerith…"

_**I'll take my chances while  
**__**You take your time with  
**__**This game you play  
**__**But I can't control your soul  
**__**You need to let me know  
**_**_You leaving or you gonna stay_**

_**You're the only one I ever believed in  
**__**The answer that could never be found  
**__**The moment you decided to let love in  
**__**Now I'm banging on the door of an angel  
**__**The end of fear is where we begin  
**_**_The moment we decided_** **_to let love in_**

Aerith let out a shaky breath and picked up Yuffie's latest drawing, not even bothering to change into something more suitable. She started toward the door and realized that she really couldn't go looking for Sephiroth to show him in a robe. It was highly undignified and inappropriate. Setting down the beautiful piece of artwork, the flower girl quickly dressed in her skirt and blouse, not even bothering with braiding her hair.

Picking up the drawing once more, the butterflies in her stomach started to flutter. She stopped in confusion, wondering what on earth could have her so nervous. Was she afraid of what Sephiroth would do upon seeing the drawing? Of course – she didn't know if he would appreciate the fact that Yuffie may have been spying on them when she placed them on the steps of the mansion. It was a few days before they had first left for Wutai, and one of the first times that he had really kissed her. Knowing that Yuffie caught them would definitely anger him, but she preserved the memory for him, so he possibly couldn't be angry… right?

Nodding firmly to herself, she took in a deep breath and started for the door, eager to show him what she had found.

_**There's nothing we can do about  
**__**The things we have to do without  
**__**The only way to feel again  
**_**_Is let love in_**

"I cannot deny it any longer – I belong with you, and that's the only way I'm ever going to be happy," Sephiroth whispered, proud that he had made it this far without sounding like a complete idiot to himself. He let out a long breath, speaking the last few words that would change his life forever. "I love you, Aerith, and nothing, no one, will ever change that. I want the world to know just how much you mean to me, that I'm never going to let you go… Aerith…"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aerith's hand closed around the doorknob and it began to twist, and she eased it open slowly. As the door opened, the sight of Sephiroth already standing in her doorway puzzled her, but she was grateful nonetheless, it meant that she didn't have to hunt for him all through the vast mansion. His lips were moving, a litany of hushed words tumbled from his lips, making the flower girl frown. She opened the door even faster, a creak issuing out, clearly indicating that the door was not closed as he had thought.

Sephiroth's eyes snapped up to her face, yet his lips did not stop, uttering the last few words. "Will you marry me?"

_**There's nothing we can do about  
**__**The things we have to live without  
**__**The only way to see again  
**__**Is let love in**_

Aerith let out a wild gasp, the drawing fluttering to the floor as both of her hands flew up to her mouth, covering her shock, emerald eyes wide.

Sephiroth stopped, realizing that she had heard the words that he had wanted her to hear last. His face paled, but he knew that there was no turning back now. He determined it was better this way – he would only lose his nerve halfway through his practiced speech anyway. Getting down on one knee, the general held up the ring to her, the gold band lying flat in his open palm. "Aerith, will you marry me?"

The squeal of delight rang throughout the house as Aerith flung herself down at him, crying into his shoulder. He grunted in pain, the scar didn't like much force put against it, but he ignored the pain for the time being, only holding his flower girl as tightly as he could. As her sobs of happiness died down, she pulled back, but his grip on her arms was unbreakable. She gave him a teary smile, her laugh somewhat choked because of her tears. "Yes!" She screamed.

A few sharp pains began at the corners of his eyes as he slipped the rather simple ring onto her finger, the diamond glinting in the morning sun that filtered through the windows at the end of the hall. He pulled her in for a long kiss, caressing her face and back. When they broke for air, Aerith grinned at him, reached behind herself and stood up with the drawing that she had found in their book. He rose as well and wordlessly took it from her hand, his glowing mako eyes gazing upon it in awe. A slow smile spread across his face and he pulled Aerith into a one armed bear hug. "It's beautiful," He muttered, "Let's go thank Yuffie, shall we?"

She nodded into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. "We should… but can we wait just a bit longer?"

The general chuckled softly, the sound rumbling from within the cavern of his body. "Of course, my love."

_**You're the only one I ever believed in  
**__**The answer that could never be found  
**__**The moment you decided to let love in  
**__**Now I'm banging on the door of an angel\  
**__**The end of fear is where we begin  
**_**_The moment we decided to let love in_**

* * *

When the news was announced a few minutes later down in the parlor, everyone was ecstatic. Tifa jumped up with Yuffie and hugged Aerith, and Vincent gave Sephiroth a brief hug, and Aerith an even bigger one, holding her gently in his embrace. It was a shock for everyone – they'd never seen Vincent hug anyone but Yuffie, and that was rarely in their presence. But it was another good kind of surprise – today seemed to be the day of pleasant surprises… all but for one.

Cloud slipped out of the room without a word, everyone else too excited and happy to notice his disappearance. He opened the backdoor and looked up at the slightly cloudy sky and sighed. So much for _his_ happily ever after.

* * *

Upon nightfall, everyone returned to their rooms. They were all asleep, save for Vincent. He lay awake with Yuffie's pregnant form next to him, fast asleep. The gunman's crimson eyes were fixed upon the ceiling, drawing imaginary patterns as his mind added children's names to his ever-growing list. It was now that he looked back on everything that had happened to them and how far they had come. A claw ran through her long hair, the sound of it brushing the golden digits seeming to echo through the silent room. Eyes the color of blood closed with a deep, content sigh, raven hair fanned out against the black pillow.

Vincent Valentine had found his home, discovered his refuge, fought for what he loved, and learned of his reason to smile.

* * *

Many stories have been retold over the ages, many edited and forgotten with the passing of time. Some may have been modified into something else, something others would want to hear. Thousands of people have heard the tale of a beautiful woman falling in love with a hideous beast, only to discover the man inside. But who is to say that the story has not been changed for the sake of others, turned into something that one would want to hear? Perhaps the tale of the beauty and the beast is not about them at all… perhaps is it is a tale of a ninja and a demon.

Ah – no wonder it was changed. Demons do not exist.

Who would believe that such creatures did roam this planet?

And besides, who would wish to hear a story about those whom do not exist?

Oh… that's right.

**You would.**

* * *

A/M: Ah... I'm finally done. I'm about a month short of writing this story for a year... but I decided you would not appreciate me holding it back 'til June 11th, so, here ya' go. xD It's fininished.

Strangely, I'm not sad. Actually, I'm relieved. I'm looking back and _gagging _at the first few chapters and not admitting to writing them. I've really changed, and it's really cool. Perhaps with the sequel, yes, SEQUEL, I'll be growing even further.

Now, I know that I've stated that I don't do mature content because I'm not that age: well, here's my answer now. I still don't. But with the sequel, I'm cutting all of the strings that hold me back and I'm going to explore and see what I can and cannot do with my skills. Now, no full blown lemons, but I'm sure that I can crank up the steam. ((lol))

The sequel, centered around Tifa, may not happen for a few weeks. But once summer hits in about three, expect a whole bunch of stuff from me. I've got June and July to write, and August is band camp where I'll be marching with the color guard and band mornings AND evenings. Yeah - don't expect much then.

**Sharingan Wolf  
Silvan Arrow  
moonstarlight  
RedroseInADarkAlley  
coughkouichicough  
Just Jill  
The Squabbit  
Lord Makura  
TOWTWUKER  
Artemis-chan of Redwing  
xline-chanx  
Black-Dragon-Rock  
Miss.Valentine71  
Random Reveiwer 2**

I thank you all for your continuous support and your wonderful reviews. I've had the best time reading all of your feedback, comments, and sugestions for the past (almost) year.

This epilogue is dedicated to a very special person, whom I look up highly to in the skills of writing: **Tishannia**, you're an amazing person, a talented author, and a great person to exchange good ideas with. Thank you so much, this is for you. I hope you enjoyed it. xD

And to all of you, thank you so much for sticking with me. Keep your eyes open for the sequel!

_- Vincent's Angel of Chaos_


End file.
